Sitting here in God’s country in the foothills of the beautiful North Georgia mountains, it’s awful easy to speculate as to whom I want to see the Braves sign or trade for. After all, I’m spending someone else’s money and prospect capital, right? Who doesn’t want a job where they get to have all the fun with no accountability?

As this year’s Hot Stove season winds down to a just couple of weeks remaining, I can look back at all the players I’ve wished for. From Madison Bumgarner to JT Realmuto to Corey Kluber to Andrew McCutchen to Ryan Haniger to David Peralta to Sonny Gray to Bryce and Manny, etc., there really are a lot of players at a lot of positions. It would look like the Braves had a lot of needs to fill, even though it was really just a brief list…

Needs: catcher, outfielder
Wants: starting pitcher, reliever, bench

Nick Markakis

Brian McCann

In reality, our new buddy Alex Anthopolous has addressed our needs, to arguable degrees. He brought home our old friend Brian McCann. And while I cannot think of a better teacher and mentor for our young pitchers, I also cannot with full sincerity say he and Tyler Flowers together can handle 162 games behind the plate. I just can’t. AA also brought back Nick Markakis, an integral piece of last year’s success story, but not a sexy or well received signing. In fact, it was divisive at best. But the fact remains, he addressed the “needs”. Fancred’s Jon Heyman even said, “After signing Markakis, Braves have very solid team and no obvious flaws.”

That’s the equivalent of being told your blind date is really smart and has a great personality.

But let’s get real here. The goal of every GM should be to put together a team that can contend for and win a World Series. Yes, I know we’ve just emerged from a rebuild where there were a few seasons that we were simply not going to contend.

I still feel the residual sting from those years. But a GM still *wants* the team to succeed. And when a team is in position to contend, that GM wants to put together the winning formula to make it happen.

Ah… and that’s the rub isn’t it? Exactly what is the winning formula? Obviously, if I knew that I wouldn’t be sitting in my office, I’d be in a executive office somewhere. But here’s what I can do. I can look back at several World Series winners and see what they have in common. What is it that binds them all together?

Looking back at the last 10 World Series winners, I found the following…

Obviously all of those teams had potent hitters in their lineups. And so do the Braves. I don’t need to regurgitate our lineup here. But if we want to put a winning team on the field, one that can not only dance during the regular season, but succeed in October especially, we better have a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation and we better have some shut down capability at the back end of the bullpen. Period. Those qualities are simply not negotiable.

So I say all that to say this, on January 28 as the Braves appear to still be chasing Miami’s catcher. Abandon the hunt. Pull back the dogs and turn that attention toward Cleveland and go get Corey Kluber. The same prospect package that would bring back the All-Star catcher will certainly bring back the All-Star pitcher. Get him. And then go sign Craig Kimbrel. The prospect capital is there and the money is there; just go spend it.

Then maybe next year I can add to the above list “2019 Braves: Corey Kluber and Mike Foltynewicz, relievers Craig Kimbrel and AJ Minter.”

Very good points V! Gotta have that tough 1-2 punch, seems in the playoffs, right now…you can then piece together the other games out of starters and relievers…right now at least.
I do wonder about the offense though. Dansby, IF he is healthy and reaches full potential, that’s a good thing, but, other that the bringer of rain, the offense looks the same. and he’s that age everyone seems to think all players fall off at….
we were shut out twice in the playoffs…doesn’t matter who is pitching then.

from the previous blog..
I am less adverse to Dallas Keuchel than I was before (though still not sure a soft tosser can be THE guy in the playoffs) and we sure could use a 200 inning guy, but…it occurred to me, that in the DH league, not only can you leave a guy in longer because you don’t have to PH for him, you also will take Keuchel out in the 6th, in a 2-2 game if say there are runners in 2nd and 3rd. A guy that will likely hit .084 next year, will be pinch hit for a fair bit…

DOB has a new story in The Athletic about Dansby and his wrist injury/recovery. Gil can certainly fill in the details (I don’t have a subscription), but essentially we learn that Dansby began to feel the discomfort in the ridiculous 30-degree baseball game they played in Wrigley last April. His first DL stint with it was in May, and he played with it most of the season through September when he just couldn’t do it anymore. It necessitated surgery where they removed debris and a “loose body” that had been worming around in there and causing the majority of the pain and weakness. That essentially prevented him from getting a comfortable grip on the bat, much less use his hands while swinging. That’s kind of necessary for a hitter.

I hate that Dansby has become the favorite whipping boy for so many around Braves Country. After all, he didn’t ask for team execs to plaster his face on billboards and try to force him into being the new face of the team as a rookie. But he is a pro, and he gets paid to deal with it. I think he’s dealt with it quite well.

But back to Dansby the 2019 player. So many want the team to get rid of him and play Johan at SS, but they disregard his value to this team. He never lost a step on defense last season, ranking #6 in all of baseball in Fangraphs defensive ratings, ahead of many heralded glovemen including Trea Turner of the rival Nats, Jean Segura, now of the rival Phillies, and Amed Rosario of the rival Mets. Also ahead of super-stars Carlos Correa and Manny Machado. His detractors also seem to gloss over the fact that he was batting .357 prior to the game in Chicago when he got hurt.

3 things I will specifically root for in 2019:

#1… a Braves win every night
#2… Bringer Of Rain to provide many moments of WOW
#3… Dansby to put together a solid season at the plate and shut up the haters

I will go back and re-read the article and share the highlights but the essence was he played hurt until he couldn’t… hand and wrist injuries are tough to overcome so I look for his bounce back this season.

Yes, when you don’t have room for a couple of top flight hurlers, you are deep. One has to wonder if any of the international players the Braves had to give up is the real reason for lack of depth in position players.

Funny thing about baseball, one player seldom makes a difference every night but making a difference 10 games a season is a huge thing. You don’t always have to be great but sucking a lot less is important…

“Yes, when you don’t have room for a couple of top flight hurlers, you are deep. One has to wonder if any of the international players the Braves had to give up is the real reason for lack of depth in position players.”

well, coppy only trading for and drafting pitchers , that played a role too 😛

Thanks for having me. Special thanks to “Carolina Lady” I live in Salem Va, Season Ticket to Salem Red Sox…Carolina League High “A”. Braves Team is Lynchburg Va. Baseball at any level is great. Again thsnks Carolina Lady.

Welcome Bo!! Baseball at any level is indeed great. I take in a great abundance of high school baseball around here. In fact, there are exhibition games in less than 2 weeks. I don’t miss many home games, and not many road games that are within a reasonable distance. Can’t wait!!

So happy for you to be here, my friend! Hope you enjoy the chatter as much as we do. Braves, baseball – and stuff. All opinions are freely expressed without drawing fire. I think your thoughts on things are pretty much what we here think and believe.

Joe Frisaro, MLB.com: The J.T. Realmuto sweepstakes appear to be entering the final stages. A source told MLB.com on Thursday that trade talks for the Marlins’ All-Star catcher are in “advanced stages,” with four clubs still in the mix: the Padres, Reds, Dodgers and Braves.

It would tickle me to no end for Bryce to end up on the west coast and for Manny to end up in Chicago’s south side… and for Dallas and/or Craig to end up here with the other going outside the NL East. Then Philly would be left holding their “stupid money”.

Final Four teams I gave 3 days ago remain the same. LA probably 4th now. Standing firm as always on opinion of Marlins 1st preference is an ATL deal but I’m not privy to info beyond that as of this moment. https://t.co/Qfnwq7mI1C

You all know I prefer a pitcher anyway, but in the context of the report above…

As of Wednesday, the reports were that the Fish had moved away from asking for a ML player and was mostly focusing on 3 Top 100 prospects. The loose framework mentioned was Austin Riley + pitcher (I refuse to even mention Ian Anderson’s name in this context) + Cristian Pache. IMO, that’s a huge overpay. Just say NO. In reality, I’d prefer to keep Riley and send them Ender, as has been rumored previously. Ender + Kyle Wright + Pache I can live with. I want Riley to thrive in Atlanta.

Here’s what I see in Austin Riley: He’s a guy with a cannon arm (was scouted as a pitcher by some teams), a guy who worked hard to become a good fielder at 3B, a good runner, and an overall good athlete to go along with the much publicized classic RH power bat. He reminds me alot of… Pat Burrell. Burrell was a 3B in HS, and was a 3B exclusively while starring at U of Miami. When the Phillies drafted him, they had a young stud named Scott Rolen entrenched at 3B, so they converted Burrell to a LF to make a path for his impressive bat. Burrell never played 3B in a pro game and turned out to be a perennial stud in LF.

I firmly believe that if the Braves give Riley a legitimate chance to play LF, he could take that role and thrive. It’s my understanding he’ll get plenty of innings in the OF this spring. I hope this happens in Lake Buena Vista with the Braves and not in Jupiter with the Fish. Perhaps he opens the season as an everyday LF in Gwinnett, then joins the team as a 4th OF in mid-year. His RH power bat would compliment Ender and even Nick on occasion and prevent September fatigue from derailing any player’s season.

Agree, while I would not throw away a Bryce Harper, I could live without his bat in the line up. As long as we do not have Julio pitching to him, the Braves have a chance.

Methinks it will be two pitchers and a position player that gets Realmuto if the Braves make the trade. They just do not have all that many top one hundred position prospects but are loaded with arms. Anyone who has ever traded baseball cards knows you don’t trade away your rarest cards if you can help it. I would have to be for a signed rookie card of a HOF guy to get that kind of a deal….

If Realmuto would sign an extension then it make it more palatable but otherwise, I would just as soon take Kimbrel for 4 years like you say Vee.

Steve Adams, MLBTR: The greatest cause for optimism regarding a terminus in this exhausting [JT Realmuto] saga could be the latest column from The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (subscription required), wherein he writes that there are “signs that [the asking price] has come down in recent days.”

So by that stat reference, the Braves were just 17th in blown saves. Not as bad as we perceived. But we were also just 16th in saves. That’s even more interesting as it illustrates the fact that the lead is just as important in the 7th and 8th innings as the 9th.

So, the Braves had the same number of blow saves as Boston… hummmm… I guess it is perception over reality or maybe their are many other underlying factors like having to use your bullpen for fewer innings or being in more games late.

Still, I would rather have Kimbrel coming out of the pen late than anyone else.

So, another week into the off season and still no obvious movement on Realmuto or the top free agents.

I can honestly say I don’t blame teams for not wanting to spend $30- $35 million dollars a year on one player. I also can deal with not trading away the future for two years on a great player. We saw what happened with Texiera. Big nothing burger and still needed pitching.

I think about this way, how many games would the Braves have won last season if they had not been so deep in quality arms?

The Nats, Phillies and Mets have all made some big strides in the off season but the Braves are going to be stout just because of who they have returning. Soroka and Darren O’Day should really help. So who knows, maybe something happens during the Super Bowl.

V, So by that stat reference, the Braves were just 17th in blown saves. Not as bad as we perceived. But we were also just 16th in saves. That’s even more interesting as it illustrates the fact that the lead is just as important in the 7th and 8th innings as the 9th.

and

Gil So, the Braves had the same number of blow saves as Boston… hummmm… I guess it is perception over reality or maybe their are many other underlying factors like having to use your bullpen for fewer innings or being in more games late.

Still, I would rather have Kimbrel coming out of the pen late than anyone else.

all good points…
but…I seem to recall a lot of games after Viz got hurt where some swell reliever with a low ERA would come in the in the 9th, give up 2,3 hits, and a run or two, but since it was 4-1, the braves still won, but it was 4-2, 4-3. or, 2 guys were needed to shut it down…just didn’t feel good. A.J. clearly got better….

and this occurred to me as well, Red Sox won 18 more games than the braves (had to look it up) and of course, the more games you win, the more chances for someone to blow a game 😛

Alot of us didn’t realize, because the “new” Braves keep info so close to the vest, that AJ was dealing with a back injury during that rough stretch. He later described it as the injury affecting his mechanics, and that his late season rebound was the result of regaining the repeatability of those mechanics.

The ask was way too high initially, yes. No argument. I know for a fact it has come down and the division thing is overstated. Braves step up with Riley or Anderson, I think they get him right now IMO.

Notice the wording here… Riley or Anderson. If AA can keep Anderson, make Riley the centerpiece, add a pitcher such as Joey Wentz or Kyle Muller, and another throw in prospect like Travis Demeritte or Isranel Wilson, I think it would be a good deal for both sides. And if they’ll expand the deal to include a reliever like Steckenrider, we can give them Tyler Flowers to be their new primary catcher. Otherwise we can spin him off in a separate deal.

MLBTR: The Braves have reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with veteran reliever Ben Rowen. Rowen, an extreme submariner, is the owner of a rare high-grounder, low-walk profile, and has turned in a number of impressive seasons at the AAA level. The 30-year-old’s last big-league appearance came in 2016 with Milwaukee, for whom he made three late-season appearances.

Morning all, I switched on the Super Bowl telecast with 8 minutes left to [lay in the game… Did I miss anything that happened prior to that? LOL…

I was reminded of the old Joe Gibbs era Redskins when they would simply wear down the opposing teams with running plays for the first three quarters of the game and pour it on a worn out defense at the end of a game.

So, other than basketball and hockey, baseball has the field to itself… (a little joke there)

I would really rather not give up Riley but you cannot expect the Marlins to completely cede their only viable trade chip for nothing… They screwed up in their trade of Yelich but that was not the Braves fault. When you make a bad deal, it is tough trying to get it all back at one time.

This may be way off base (yes, pun fully intended), but I think that Ian Anderson’s ceiling is more projectable than Austin Riley. I believe both will be successful ML’ers, but I would bet on Anderson before Riley. And I believe Anderson will be a perennial star. Will Riley? Maybe, but just maybe. I certainly can’t believe it with the same veracity as I do Anderson.

Ian Anderson is the 2019 version of Adam Wainright. Barring some devastating injury, he will be our “ace” in 2021. And it appears the front office is behind him as well given their unwillingness to budge on him in trade demands.

As good as our young pitching core is currently, it will be completely transformed by 2021 when it will begin with Anderson, Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright and Bryce Wilson. Whomever else remains can fight for the last spot.

According to multiple sources there are indeed “mystery” team(s) in on Bryce Harper that the public is not aware of…and as many texts/emails & phone calls I’ve made…I still can’t find them…..#Braves ? #Cardinals ? #Astros ? #Giants ? #Angels ? #Yankees ? #BlueJays ? I give up

There as word that Harper was spotted in Atlanta over the weekend, but then again there was this little event involving another sport going on here. I understand it was a pretty big deal. The event, not… well, you know.

As the days creep slowly by, i think more and more that the price for J.T. REALMUTO is too steep, and we are more apt to spring some dough-re-mi on CRAIG KIMBREL. Giving the ‘pen some real backbone with RH’ers VIZCAINO and KIMBREL, and LH MINTER as the closers might be better than having REALMUTO blocking WILLIE CONTRERAS in 2021, or giving up a top three prospect for a two year rental with no assurance of any extension. Not a particularly appealing deal. I can see why AA hasn’t gone for that bait.

Here we sit, just 10 days before P&CR, and even less than that for most MLB teams. But for the Braves specifically, my gut still tells me there is another major move to be made, and most likely within these last 10 days. This week? I’d like to think so. Surely whomever we have targeted would like to know where they’re going to be training and living for the next 6 weeks, especially if they’re bringing wife/kids with them.

I feel like a bow string that is being stretched all the way back before being released. The impact is going to be big, but the current tension is killing me.

What’s weird to me is that there is a sense that the Braves are still hanging in on the periphery of the Bryce Harber saga. There are suggestions that the sides might could connect on a backloaded deal with some player friendly options involved. And what makes this doubly interesting is that should something unthinkable along these lines actually happen, suddenly we have an extra OF to be dealt. Ender? To Miami? To Cleveland? TO San Francisco?

I am sure this is all a product of some vivid imaginations that are starved for some juicy Braves bombshell.

I saw some discussion this morning that suggested that MLB should look at placing a winter deadline, similar to the July 31, trade deadline, for teams to sign FA’s and make trades. The discussion was merely speculative and very general in scope. But is it worth the discussion?

For instance, arbitration hearings started on Feb. 1 this year. Suppose there was a deadline set to make major league trades or FA signings before Feb. 1, setting a “Spring Training roster”. Minor league deals could still be done, but not with a ML camp invite to dissuade skirting the deadline. Once camp opens, teams would then be open to tinkering with their rosters again. In essence it’s only a 2 or 3 week moratorium, but it should at the very least prevent teams from using their Spring Training reporting date as a defacto deadline. It could possibly spur more activity earlier, at least in January when it was sooooo dead this year. And in reality, there is no deadline, regardless of reporting date. Who’s to say some of these players like Manny or Bryce don’t want to go through the grind of 6 weeks of Spring Training? What’s to keep them from purposely dragging their feet to gain a couple extra weeks of personal offseason? Then again, they could still do that even if there was an early February moratorium. I don’t know. Maybe there is no good answer.

Too much regulation? Good for the players? Good for fans? Both? Useless blathering?

I also think that any interruption in FA singing, even for just 2-3 weeks, would be met with strong opposition from the MLBPA as stifling player movement. So it’s probably a moot point anyway.

As you should know, I do not dismiss WAR, I just don’t embrace it as the only reference point for value. But I do think it can be useful for comparison purposes – as in comparing the overall value of Player A vs. Player B – as it is comprised of many different metrics. (It’s those singular metrics by themselves that I find offputting.) And even with the more comprehensive WAR stat, it doesn’t accurately measure a player’s full defensive worth… which is why I like it only as a complimentary part of evaluating a player. I guess my point is that I do think WAR does have some credibility.

As the days creep slowly by, i think more and more that the price for J.T. REALMUTO is too steep, and we are more apt to spring some dough-re-mi on CRAIG KIMBREL. Giving the ‘pen some real backbone with RH’ers VIZCAINO and KIMBREL, and LH MINTER as the closers might be better than having REALMUTO blocking WILLIE CONTRERAS in 2021, or giving up a top three prospect for a two year rental with no assurance of any extension. Not a particularly appealing deal. I can see why AA hasn’t gone for that bait.

Gordon, I agree. We would possibly be considering trading him mid 2020 to get something better than a #1 pick….depending on how well the team was doing in 2020

In other news, and Gil will have to expand on this as it is from Rosey’s latest offering in The Athletic, among the rule changes being considered are a 3 pitch minimum for relievers, expanding the active roster to 26, but limiting it to 28 in Sept., and implementing the DH in the NL… possibly as soon as this season.

Because I cannot read his whole article, I cannot speak to any details that may change the actuality of what I just typed. But the comments I have seen made about it seem to bear out its appearance.

But I will say this… if they are going to implement of these major changes – DH, 26 man roster – for 2019, that will send all 30 teams into an overtime frenzy. For NL teams, they will all have to add or find a DH. That can be accomplished by the extra roster spot, of course, but will still result in alot of NL teams all scrambling for a small handful of available candidates.

In the Braves case, they can just sign Bryce Harper and sort out the details by April. 😀

These may be unnecessary comments, as I still haven’t seen the actual rule change proposals, but I still want to address those named above thus:

I like the 3 batter minimum for pitchers… which would obviously carry an exception for injury. I have never liked bringing in a pitcher for just one batter. I get it, but I don’t like it.

Expanding the roster to 26? In this age of pitch limits, it has become almost necessary. Given that starters view 6 innings as a goal now, it’s not possible to function with a “short” bullpen of the traditional 7.

Limiting to 28 in Sept.? Well, teams shot themselves in the foot last season bringing up so many 1-batter pitchers. It all came to a head, and will obviously be nipped in the bud with all of these noted actions.

And the DH? I don’t like it and have never liked it. But I also don’t like the fact that one league has it and the other doesn’t. And there is no way in @#$% that the MLBPA will ever allow it to be taken away from the AL. Te imbalance was OK before inter-league play, and even added somewhat to the “mystique” of meeting the AL team in the World Series, but it is now a disadvantage for the NL. And let’s face it… the reality is that it’s inevitable anyway. The NL might as well go ahead and accept it and take advantage of the benefits. “Resistance is futile.”

Not sure as I haven’t seen the whole proposal. But I get the concept. Changing pitchers every batter makes an inning drag on forever. It’s the next step beyond limiting mound visits in the evolution of game time management.

A rule that would allow two-sport amateurs to sign major league contracts [because MLB is losing its best athletes to the instant payday of the NBA and NFL]

ESPN also notes: “The league’s other bid to deal with pace of play was the enactment of a 20-second pitch clock, something commissioner Rob Manfred can put into place unilaterally. While numerous players have spoken out against the pitch clock, the recognition that Manfred has the ability to mandate it, even without the union’s support, gives him leverage on the issue, according to sources.”

In other words, Manfred can implement the pace of play rules by arbitrary order, thus some of the other roster related measures are probably offered up to give the players something in their favor especially with rumblings of player discord in advance of the current CBA expiring in just 3 years.

As I understand, there are owner meetings next week just ahead of camps opening the following week, where these proposed rule changes will be discussed. Some are being proposed for 2019, while the players reportedly would like to hold off until 2020. Obviously this is a story that will continue to unfold over the next several days.

But can you imagine them being imposed right away, as GMs and managers are already trying to construct teams and rosters? Would AA have acted differently if he knew of any possible changes in roster needs?

I cannot imagine they would hit teams with a DH or new roster limits this season. It changes the entire complexion of roster building… which has been in process for months.

More close to home with our Braves… if the unthinkable were to happen and the DH was imposed right away. who would be ours? How would Snit make the lineup in that instance? It changes everything.

I will say this, though. It would make a guy like Johan Camargo even more important. He could play all over the field almost everyday and still keep the heavy lumber in the lineup at the same time. Heck, maybe I want this to happen quickly after all. 😀

I do find it interesting that these proposed rule changes seek to eliminate “specialists” on the pitching side, but would add “specialists” on the hitting side. Sort of tells you in a nutshell what they’re trying to accomplish, doesn’t it?

Shorter, higher scoring games.

Of course, Greg Maddux would scoff at it all anyway and pitch 9 innings in under 2 hours against all batters regardless of specialty. “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ha. I worked in a bible verse on a baseball blog. Awesome.)

My first spring training I had a dry ice bomb blow up in my pitching hand. My forearm filled up w blood under the skin and a piece of plastic shot into my armpit needing 12 stitches… Didn’t tell team about this bc I’m not an idiot.

I think the Phillies have entered the JTR derby because they realize they could miss out on both Bryce and Manny, and they have to make a splash in some way after their “stupid money” comments.

What are the chances that it’s not teams/owners holding up the signing of Bryce and Manny, but maybe the two players themselves? Is it possible that each are waiting for the other to sign to A) have more contract leverage with the remaining teams, and B) angle for the higher contract? I think that’s a fairly plausible reality.

V, I COMPLETELY misread what you posted, I thought it was a 3 pitch minimum! Though in my defense (Slightly) it’s a crazy idea to have a pitcher face 3 hitters. What if it’s a 3-2 game in the 8th, bases loaded, and he walks a hitter on 4 pitches? Then he has to face 2 more guys, and walks them both???? or a guy gives up back to back homers in a 4-2 game? He still has to face a 3rd hitter? Fans are not going to like losing games to some new, lame rule….thats just what I have thought of now, I am sure many more what-ifs will come up very shortly

On the above proposed rule changes, there is a little more clarity this afternoon.

These proposed changes have been born from recent discussions held between MLB and the MLBPA. Those rules that deal with pace of play all originated from MLB, whereas the rules dealing with rosters – DH, roster size, trade deadline, etc. – all originated with the MLBPA.

It’s entirely possible that MLB could cave to the union and allow the DH in the NL as soon as this year, but it sure would put NL execs in a bind having already constructed their rosters under the old system. And while common sense might dictate that any such major change should be put off until 2020, don’t rule anything out. “Common” sense is no longer common, and trying to keep the union happy might trump (no pun intended) better judgement… especially with new CBA negotiations on the horizon.

There has already been veiled whispers of collusion with regard to a second year of extremely slow FA movement. The union might sense they have MLB in a corner and are exerting a little bit of pressure to get some long wanted additional job security. DH? 26 man roster? You can bet the union wants these more than anything, and there could be a handshake settlement to allow these concessions to not get more vocal about collusion against FAs.

aha.. the “C” word…. is there collusion? doubtful, just 30 GMs that don’t want to bankrupt their team by paying $30 MM a year to one player for the next 10 years. What is the incentive for a player after they sign a big contract to not “short arm” the ball and phone it in for 2/3rds of the season? Just saying…

Bryce Harper may cost you $30M per year added to the payroll, but he’ll generate as much in a bump in attendance, TV ratings, merchandise, national exposure, etc. None of these actions happen in a vacuum.

OK good folks. I am about to be out of town for the next 3 days, chaperoning a group of high school kids at a statewide thespian convention. Please pray for me. 😉 Seriously, they are great kids, but I will be a bit out of pocket. I’ll check back in when possible, but it is likely to be infrequently. At best I’ll make a ton of typos working off my phone.

I’m a little unclear on where the Braves stand on all of this today. I know at one point they offered the Marlins what would be considered the “highest rated” system prospect to Miami. It’s possible today that offer has been topped.

well, of course I don’t know the Phils prospects all that well, but what I am hearing now, 19 Y.O. pitcher, and a 25 Y.O. catcher that played a fair bit last year…just doesn’t sound like a terribly big hall for the Marlins…though there may be another Phils top 10 guy as well…..

Unconfirmed reports say their #1, P Sixto Sanchez, young C Jorge Alfaro, another top 10, possibly OF Mickey Moniak, plus a 4th prospect. Miami is insisting on 4, and it’s that last piece that is holding it up from being a done deal.

Not happy that the Phils are better, but….like V said, they have lost a few guys that would be headaches for the braves….down the road….seems the braves could have made a much better offer, but I have a sneaking suspicion Thoppy probably offered more than he wanted to, and they asked for even more, which made the braves back off ….I just had fears of Ian Anderson, Austin Riley, and toss in Gohara, being folks that haunted the braves for the next decade, all for 2 years of a catcher….

Sad to lose a great like Frank Robinson. Rookie of the year (at 20, 38 homers) traded by the Reds to the Orioles at the age of 30 ( I believe the Reds thought he was on the way down) then had his best year of his career (49 HR’s 122 RBI’s , 122 Runs, .316 BA .410 OBP, all which lead the league!) his 586 HR’s were 4th best all time when he retired….then became the first African-American manager (And I think the last player-manager) seemed to be doing a pretty good job as the Nats manager, too bad he didn’t get a chance to go to the playoffs…

Today’s revelation is that AA was willing to trade any prospect, Anderson and Riley included, in a JTR package… it was just the volume that MIA asked in return that was deemed too excessive. And for that judgment, I am grateful. Phillies paid a very high price.

Headline on the Braves MLB site, Have the Braves done enough in the off season to keep pace in the NL East?

Well, no… IMO but it is still early yet and a trade might yet ensue for an ACE or Kimbrel… Okay, Kimbrel would just take money but y’all get the idea. After all, what position piece could the Braves add right now that would be that much of an upgrade?

There was a report out late yesterday that says that Cleveland is now unlikely to trade Corey Kluber. According to Jon Paul Morosi, “… multiple sources said that there is almost no chance Kluber will be dealt before the start of Spring Training. And since Indians pitchers and catchers begin official workouts on Thursday, little time remains for discussions to revive.”

Of course, they still need OF’s in a bad way, but it looks like that CLE –> ATL train has left the station.

So… there’s still money to spend. And alot of it. In fact, there’s enough to spread around both Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, especially if Julio can be sent away upon the signing of Keuchel.

Will I feel betrayed and/or lied to if this team heads into camp with a total payroll under last year’s, when there are clear upgrades still available on the FA market? Yeah… a little. I gotta admit it. Especially since we’ve gone lateral at beast with 2 of our “big” acquisitions this offseason. JD is certainly a major talent. No question. But Mac, while a nice feel good coming home story, is a stretch to reproduce Zuk’s production. I’m still worried about McFlowers going the full 162. And obviously Nick = Nick. And more than likely 2019 Nick < 2018 Nick.

So it’s good, but I don’t feel it’s enough. This team needs a clear veteran upgrade from Julio. At this point in his career, Julio should not be the team’s #4 starter, especially at a $11M salary.

And while I like what we have in our bullpen, and consider it to be “good”, is “good” good enough?

I’ve repeatedly advocated for a Kluber/Kimbrel two-fer. But if I can’t get those 2 “K”s, I’ll settle for Keuchel/Kimbrel.

Agreed Vee, we don’t know all the goings on behind closed doors but it is unlikely the Braves will have a better record within the division than last year with the upgrades made by the Mets, Phillies and Nats. Every other NL East foe gets to beat up on the Marlins so that is a wash…

Trades are always iffy because you don’t always know when that 20 something is going to be the next Barry Bonds or Greg Maddux but free agents are only money… We are not talking about signing a 30 year old to a ten year contract but a young player for five is not a stretch.

I really thought KIMBREL would be coming home, but age and his down year has taken the luster off that six-year, demand he obviously still has out there.

If he would drop to three at 15, I think the BRAVES among many others would consider him a great get.
I’m sure he will play this year, but not sure it will ever be the BRAVES.

Anyway lots of prognosticators say TOUKI is going to be a #5 starter to begin the season. That’s what ST is all about. To find out if he’s a contender or pretender.

In the ‘pen, some feel SAM FREEMAN will return, prolly because he’s a lefty.
I dunno. With BIDDLE, VENTERS, DAYTON, and MINTER, FREEMAN’s gonna’ have some pretty stiff competition for a third lefty ‘pen arm with FRIED and GOHARA lurking if they don’t man a rotation slot.

IMO, Max Fried will surprise alot of people this year. He’s been somewhat forgotten, but he’s a talented kid. Most likely bullpen, but won’t be surprised if he takes the #5 spot. Like you said, it’s all about competition now.

SunTrust Bank and BB&T announced on Thursday a huge multi-million dollar “merger of equals” that will be completed sometime “in the fourth quarter of 2019”, or likely after the 2019 baseball season is over.

What does this even have to do with baseball, or more specifically the Braves? Well, the two banks are going in as equals. It isn’t a case of one gobbling up the other. Thus, the new mega-bank will not carry either of the former’s name. So as you have probably put together by now, SunTrust Park will have to be renamed for 2020.

Here’s what I’d like to know on February 11, 2019. If the Braves are being paid $10M per year for those naming rights, which they are, what are we getting for that $10M? Can we assign it to a portion of a new deal for Craig Kimbrel?

Just an observation about stuff… A lot of folks are whining that their Federal Income tax refunds are not as big as in the past. I don’t think they have taken into account that less taxes were withheld from their paycheck each payday. People sure can be stupid…. Stop using you withholding like a Christmas Club account. Okay, off the soapbox for now…

Well, here we are 3 days before P&CR, and we’re still waiting for that one additional big move that we – plus most local media jockeys – have been anticipating.

So what “big” moves are even still possible? Well, barring some completely under the radar name that comes out of nowhere, there are really only 6 possible impact moves remaining: sign Bruce Harper, sign Manny Machado, sign Dallas Keuchel, sign Craig Kimbrel, sign Marwin Gonzalez, trade for Corey Kluber.

There are some other FA signings possible that do not make sense, such as Gio Gonzalez or Adam Jones. But AA will not sign or trade for a pitcher, starter or reliever, that is not a clear upgrade over what we already have. Thus, my list above. Same can be said for position players. Unless it’s a clear upgrade, we don’t need it.

So let’s looks at those 6 names…

Corey Kluber: Might as well include his teammate Trevor Bauer in this as well as CLE has dangled both. But recent published reports say that CLE would have to be “blown away” by prospects to trade either. I think AA demonstrated in the JTR saga that he will not rape his pipeline for any player.

Marwin Gonzalez: I can’t see it. He would certainly upgrade our bench, but he’s looking for a starting job. Plus, we already have our own version of him in Johan Camargo.

Manny Machado: Would cost a boatload of money. Would also require Dansby’s spot on the IF. Now, to be clear, I do think he is an upgrade over Dansby. I think that is a given. But adding Manny and subtracting Dansby from the clubhouse would cause collateral damage. And given the whole boatload of money thing, I would give very long odds on seeing “Manny Big Ears” (sounds like a mob nickname) in a Braves uni. If he were a perfect fit maybe, but he’s not.

Bryce Harper: Would cost a boatload of money. Probably a bigger boat than Manny. But… he would easily slot right into our OF and give us a murderer’s row in the lineup. He would also give the organization some market credibility at a time when everyone around the country looks at Atlanta as being cheap. He would prove to every other potential FA that the Braves are serious about putting together a winning team. I won’t even mention marketing, TV and attendance. His signing would also allow AA to dangle Ender to OF starved teams for a decent return in either prospects or pitching. (Remember, these moves do not happen in a vacuum. Each one has a ripple effect of other events that will occur.)

Dallas Keuchel: AA has stated that draft pick compensation attached to these guys is not an obstacle. He;s concerned only with cost. Thus far, DK’s asking price has not come down to what AA finds palatable. Remember, DK is on the other side of 30, thus he’s simply not going to receive an offer greater than 3 years. It’s my understanding he’s looking for 4. That said, he would be a clear upgrade for us. Remember, Anibal Sanchez started Game 2 for us in the playoffs. Anibal Sanchez. We need another veteran starter not named Julio. Our starting rotation can be good, but “good” is not going to be good enough in this division. Acquiring DK would give us the bump we must have to remain competitive in the NL East. And his signing would be somewhat offset by trading Julio, meaning if you give him 3 years at $22M per year, the additional cost in 2019 would only be $11M when you subtract what is owed to Julio.

After 2005 I wanted to gain weight because Felix threw 98. My Dad made me a shake w 6 raw eggs , 2 big scoops of peanut butter, half a pint of ice cream and chocolate syrup. I drank one every night and gained 35 lbs … Got to camp and was still throwing 89 + had to do fat camp

Today I am of the point of view that I want AA to forget everyone else and sign Bryce to a big deal. I want him to put all of baseball on notice that the Braves are serious about winning and that if we fail it won’t be because we didn’t put all our cards on the table. I do not want to go into 2019 with “ifs” and “?’s” hoping that we can overachieve again. I’ll take my chances on our young pitching both in the rotation and the bullpen, but I want to bludgeon other teams to death with Acuña, Bryce, Freddie and JD.

Ah, just 2 days before P&CR. I am systematically weening myself off of all the personnel speculation, trade targets, etc. It’s not been easy. I have deleted a number of browser shortcuts to various writers around the country, as well as some specific ones in specific regions of rumored trade targets. I am backing down to just the locals… well, maybe 1 or 2 others, but you can’t expect a guy to go cold turkey, now can you?

But at this point, I’m tired. (It doesn’t help that I am in the clutches of an insidious cold, but I digress…) I’m tired of trying to simulate doing the job of a guy that gets paid a whopping undisclosed salary to be the Executive Vice President/General Manager. And I’m tired of seeing guys I’d like to see in Atlanta going elsewhere. That’s probably what makes me the most tired.

In summary, I’m tired of being tired. So today I am looking forward to P&CR. I’m concentrating on the guys who already have lockers in Disney. I’m looking forward to seeing how the execs and media types respond to seeing Ian Anderson in his first major league camp. I’m looking forward to seeing Austin Riley justify the steel grip the organization kept on him. I’m looking forward to the death stare of Bryce Wilson on the mound. (He is becoming one of my favorite prospects. Don’t count him out in the race for the 5th starter’s spot.) I am looking forward to seeing Ronald Acuña clowning during the spring workouts. I am looking forward to seeing a healthy Dansby Swanson. I am looking forward to seeing a more mature Sean Newcomb.

I could go on and on with the things I am looking forward to seeing this spring, but suffice to say that I am looking forward to seeing my team back in action. Contending or rebuilding, and all points in between, I love ’em. And I can’t wait to see ’em again.

Good morning everyone, another slow day in Braves Country…. SIGH! Lots of folks are picking the Braves to finish 4th in the division this season but when you only have a couple of games separating the best team from the 4th place team, it means a lot depends on the X factor. Things like team chemistry and injuries and not losing games you should have won and winning games you should have lost.

In the past we have seen Kimbrel (who is high on my want list) get worn down towards the end of the season but having a kid like AJ Minter learning at Kimbrel’s knee and spelling him every third game.

I do not often post an entire article here, but this one is quite significant and worthy of the entire read. It’s from Alan Carpenter at Tomahawk Take:

For years now – thanks an the ‘insider’ deal hatched to sell the Atlanta Braves – the team has been saddled with a below-market-value television rights contract.

It was back in 2014 that this contract was renegotiated (and most likely extended) to provide a bit of financial power coming back to the team.

Nonetheless, this contract still remains as one of the elements that is holding down overall revenues for the club and it acts as a large weight that is keeping them from competing with the rest of the large market franchises at higher payroll levels.

That situation has the potential to change… and a lot sooner than expected.

Some months ago (last June), the Walt Disney Corporation entered into an agreement with Fox to purchase their movie and television operations and other assets. As with most large corporate mergers or buyouts, there’s a process of government regulatory review, and the US Department of Justice had an objection… one that has been settled with an agreement on both sides.

The DOJ will approve the sale provided that Disney divest itself of a specific portion of the Fox universe: their Regional Sports Networks (RSNs)… 22 of them.

Among the networks that would be part of this spinoff sale are the very networks that the Braves are contracted with for broadcast of the vast majority of their games: FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southeast.

It seems that Disney is finding it difficult to locate buyers for this enterprise, though, and that is leading to an interesting possible competition.

According to Awful Announcing, two of the more prominent bidders remaining now are Major League Baseball itself and Liberty Media – the parent company of the Braves.

What’s most intriguing here is that Liberty Media (LM) is thus bidding on the rights to own the very TV contract that is still hamstringing the Braves.

A successful purchase would mean that they wouldn’t even have to renegotiate any deal… they’d own both sides of the transaction, and all of the downstream revenues would flow to the company.

In more practical terms, if they saw fit, they could choose to axe and re-make the contract with the Braves, for that would allow easier cash flow to the team – if that’s the route they would choose.

Ha…. Shades of Ted Turner and TBS… And honestly, why would Liberty spend money they don’t have to. It is like hiring your spouse to do a job. Unless it is politics, they are going to get the short end of the stick. Liberty is a publicly traded company so the stock holders would scream bloody murder. So the light you see at the end of that tunnel Vee is likely a freight train coming head on.

They like Keuchel but asking price would have to come down, not going to pay $18-20M per year in long-term deal for him. I'd guess if his ask came down to something in range of 3 years at $14-15M per, #Braves would be players. https://t.co/rQIVwpHf4G

“When the Braves left Atlanta and moved 15 miles to the north in Cobb County, on the other side of the disposable income dividing line, they did so for one reason — money. It wasn’t to get closer to their fans, as they so often spun publicly. It was because county administrators quietly cut them the public-funding deal of a lifetime and gave ownership the opportunity to be commercial real estate landlords. It was Scrooge McDuck nirvana.

The Braves’ public talking points focused on the potential positive ripple effect of the deal: A development called The Battery would be built adjacent to SunTrust Park. The revenue generated by both would flow into the organization. Payroll would skyrocket. A river of free agents would potentially follow.

You can wake up now.”

Screen grab from Shultz’ opening salvo… He pretty much said the same thing that we have been saying.. White man from the north speak with forked tongue. Reading the entire article what I gathered was this. We may or may not have money to spend but we are not going to tell you how much. We have been teasing folks with the amount but the bottom line is this.

If we were playing blackjack , we would be at the $5 table and we are going to play a long time because even if we have deep pockets, we are going to be cautious because going all in at this point could mean going to bed early.

Another way to look at it is a song from the “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” I Love to do a Little Sidestep Here is the refrain:

Ooh I love to dance a little sidestep, now they see me now they don’t-
I’ve come and gone and, ooh I love to sweep around the wide step,
cut a little swathe and lead the people on.

The team is banking on the current youngsters taking a step forward, and the new youngsters emerging and contributing. And that very well could happen. But to take the stance that you don’t want to sign a veteran that will block a youngster is just not accurate.

Exhibit A: Josh Donaldson

Now, I am quite happy they signed JD. But he does block a youngster, so that argument is no longer valid.

Can this team, as currently constructed, compete with the free spending Mets, Phillies and Nationals? Yes they can if alot of factors go their way. But there’s no room for anyone to have a bad season. And if two key guys slump or there is a key long term injury, it could get ugly.

Right now, this organization can afford to add a remaining impact veteran, be it a pitcher or a hitter. It could happen. There are players still out there that could transform this team from a team that must overachieve again, to a team that should achieve again.

Do I think we must react to what other teams are doing? Not directly. No exec should act just out of response. But at the same time we cannot allow the other teams to start the race with a drastic head start either. Not when there is something we can do about it.

Vee, you are point on… It is back to If everything lines up perfectly for us, we will be big winners again business model. We saw a lot of that with Frank Wren. If you are going to always be playing at the small table, you are never going to win a big pot.

Sure, tell me how the government doesn’t win big providing a numbers game were not only do the win at least half off the top but get to take half your winnings in taxes too… No wonder everyone wants to own a casino…

I just typed a scathing rant that spewed alot of venom and vitriol toward the organization. But I read it over and typed this over it instead. I’m not sure why their opening up and saying things to the media what we already know should make me angry. At least they are honest, sort of, about it. But like I said, we already knew the excuses anyway.

Bottom line is that we will continue to be the Rays vs. the Yankees and Red Sox. I might as well accept it and move on.

Yes Vee, perhaps the Braves are just trying to get the fans to get it all out of their system early. Then after they lose the first two out of three to the Phillies to begin the season, they can say “Well, you don’t usually end up with the same 25 guys at the end of the season as you start with”

Lord help Nick if he starts the season in a slump… Hoo-boy… AA will need an armed guard to escort him around Atlanta.

While I think the Marlins are a joke, what will be regarded as the greater accomplishment? Finishing first in their division 14 years in a row or winning two World Series titles in the same span?

There is alot of exasperation out there. No question. Does it matter? Hard to say, but I think the Braves front office may have underestimated the backlash. While I agree that a GM cannot form a strategy by sticking his finger to the prevailing winds of fan opinion, he also cannot ignore its potential power… especially in the age of social media. What used to be a smoldering pocket of displeasure can now easily be stoked into a full fury of anger and resentment.

Yes Vee, AA and McQuirk may have stepped in it big time. I guess they have the same attitude most every other carpet bagger had when coming to the South. They are just a bunch of ignorant hillbillys and wouldn’t know the difference between winning and treading water.

I keep thinking about the old bromide that goes: “They think I am a mushroom because they keep me in the dark and feed me bullshit”…

Having a history of working for big corporations and being a Union rep many of those years, I know when someone blowing smoke up my butt…. Yes, I know it is a business and lot of things have to be taken into account but waiting until you are 10 games out of first before making a move is not a great business model.

Let’s be honest, why do folks think Atlanta is a small market? They sure do everything to perpetuate that line don’t they?

No, I don’t think Thoppy has to blow up the budget but he does need to show some good faith in shelling out some cash to improve the team. I don’t see where dumpster diving is a very good plan for filling out your needs to improve your team works very often.

Here is where I continue to struggle with that piece that appeared in The Athletic. (With all due credit to Gil for sharing it’s content, and to most of Braves nation for quoting it in their own respective rants.)

I still cannot decide if they were treating me like an idiot, or just simply attempting to lessen fan expectation that they themselves built to a high level early in the offseason. We all saw the comments made by McGuirk that the payroll would increase. And we all saw the comments by AA that said we could shop in every aisle without limitation. So they are directly responsible for the high level of fan expectation.

If the interview was simply an attempt to reset the bar at a lower level, they failed miserably. In all honesty, I don’t think they were consciously treating us all like stooges. Neither of them has risen in executive ranks by being idiots themselves. But they severely miscalculated the impact their answers would have. If they felt they were addressing fan concerns and soothing our feelings, they were wrong. We all came away feeling “talked down to”, to a certain degree.

IMO, these guys got caught flatfooted and unprepared. And it has cost them credibility in the eyes of the fans. Both are going to have to work to regain it now.

Actually, the courts ordered that the FOX networks be sold separately, with MLB and Liberty Media being 2 prominent bidders. But the bidding is wide own to whomever has a few billion samolians lying around.

Bottom line is this: It would be HUGE if Liberty Media can purchased the TV rights currently held by FOX. because they would then own both sides of the broadcast rights contract. They could then A) renegotiate the terms that have been so onerous to the team into something more in line with the industry norm, or B) simply allow all the “downstream revenues” to flow to the company. In simpler terms, that option would eliminate the middleman.

Why does the YES network pay the Yankees so much for exclusive rights? The TV revenues are enormous. If Liberty Media was to own the cow, they wouldn’t have to pay for the milk. The only question that would remain would be how much of the butterfat would trickle down to the team.

Heard in Miami circles: It’s about the deal, he’s disappointed with the offers so far and Machado is willing to wait for what he think he’s worth (said to be about $300M). There is some strategy to this, as his market may improve if Harper goes off board first.

#Braves officially just had pitchers & catchers report today, but already about 25 pitchers throwing off mounds and many been here for several days. So they've in effect been working out most of the week. Soroka has thrown 6 side sessions in FLA, Snitker said. No restrictions

I just listened to a very interesting take on the much regurgitated article in The Athletic that has set off such a firestorm in Braves nations. And I have to admit, it has left me thinking about my own reaction.

First, the commentator made a strong reference to the article’s author, Jeff Schultz. Schultz was a former sports columnist for the AJC, covering a number of different topics dealing with all the local sports in the city. And the radio commentator reminded me of something I had forgotten, mainly because I stopped reading the AJC years ago. Jeff Schultz was always an agitator. He was the heel in the room that always took a contrarian point of view to stir the pot. For example, Schultz wrote a series of scathing columns criticizing the Braves for leaving Atlanta city proper for Cobb County. He was relentless in his attacks on them for abandoning the city, even as his own fish-wrapper had left the city years ago for a headquarters in suburban Dunwoody. In media, you always have to have an agitator to create dialogue or else you just have everyone in agreement. That was Jeff Schultz’ role at the AJC, and apparently it’s the one he has taken on at The Athletic.

And here’s where it really hit me… upon seeing teases on the article – tweets and retweets, etc. – I have to admit I gave about 5 minutes of consideration to subscribing to the pay-per-view media outlet so that I could see for myself what all the hubbub was about. I got all the way to the part where you put in your credit card #, then backed away when realizing that I was not acting, but reacting.

So here’s my point. Jeff Schultz went into that interview with a long held agenda – to put up a negative leaning article that would create buzz and clicks for his employer. And he was wildly successful, gaining even national attention out of it. The fallout may even have exceeded his own hopes. But the result carries collateral damage as well. The negative press that the Braves are now incurring can be damaging to the team. There isn’t a more optimistic fan in Braves Nation than this guy, but I was so mad I typed some things in a rant that I would not be proud of posting… and fortunately thought better of it before actually posting.

I was admittedly swayed. And I am ashamed that I fell victim to the commonplace agenda driven media that no longer reports the news so that I can make up my own mind, but now tells me how I’m supposed to think as well.

It is now being confirmed that the photo that is making its way around the media, and the one that I posted above of Craig Kimbrel in the Orlando airport, was taken 2 years ago. There is nothing going on right now.

Gabe Burns even noted a few minutes ago: Let’s be clear: There is nothing in the works between Braves and Kimbrel right now.

ESPN writer Tim Kurkjian is publishing a fun Spring Training story on his twitter site every day. Yesterday’s was classic:

The first day of spring training 2011, the Twins pranked teammate Denard Span. The whole team was in on it. They told him he needed to introduce himself to new Japanese SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who didn’t speak English. But they sent him to the locker of infielder Ray Chang.

Span bowed respectfully to Chang, welcoming him to the team. “Do you speak any English?” Span asked. Chang said, “Sure I do, I’m from Kansas City!” The whole team, including Span, Chang and Nishioka, howled with laughter.

Yes, I got duped by the photo of Kimbrel too. Why are people such A**holes?

Yes, I got pretty riled by Shultz’ column. Still, there were some accurate points he made, mainly, the Braves front office has said repeatedly they could spend money and would spend it to make the team better. I think the frustrations is going into the season their was an expectation the Braves would make some acquisitions beyond Donaldson who was not really on the Braves radar I don’t think.

We shall see if Schultz succeeded in shaming Thoppy or if he will now dig in his heels out of spite. One thing for sure, I don’t think he enjoyed surfing the net the last few days.

Again, to be clear, it’s a good place to start. But I still want that veteran addition to my rotation. Add Kimbrel and a top starter and I’ll forget the whole condescending interview.

V, it’s weird (what berigan, what?) Not sure exactly but, in no way defending the braves higher ups ( as cheap as he team seems, we still aren’t the rays, or the Pirates, the really horrid ownership group in baseball, they draw fans, but will NOT put money back into the team, I would find another team to root for if I lived there, at least until there was new ownership)
but, Coppy created all sorts of problems, unique perhaps to no other team, ever in baseball. A crazy, unbalanced prospect pool higher in pitching prospects than any other team….ever???? TBQ

I read recently that the Indians were pretty unlikely to trade Corey Kluber…they will more than likely breeze thru the AL central again….so, who is likely available at this point? Who is much better than what we have???
ok, everyone knows this, but still
as the rotation stands..
1. Folty 2.85 ERA , and 27. wasn’t great in the playoffs, but still clearly by all measurements, a #1
2.Newcomb 3.90 ERA and 25 (mlb site I am grabbing stats from had this tidbit. He had a 3.15 ERA, til his last 8 starts. Worn out from first season??? A clear #2 for most of the season.
3.Kevin Gausman 2.86 ERA in his 10 starts for the braves. 28. a Veteran. Will he be as good this season? If so, an excellent #3!
4. Julio Teheran 3.94 ERA and a grizzled vet at 28. We all wish he’d either find that 95 MPH, or go to another team before he is throwing 89 MPH and has a 5.50 ERA. but, from a statistical point only, 3.94 ERA is swell for a #4, right?
5.Mike Soroka, Touki Toussaint, Kyle Wright, Max Fried, Luiz Gohara and Bryse Wilson are the choices.
Honestly, if Soroka is healthy, he and Touki should have spots in the rotation. What good does it do the other guys, perhaps everyone but Soroka , to pitch in AAA again? Well, Gohara needs to re-establish himself a bit, and the other guys are still young, folks get injured but still…it’s not “sexy” but we all seem to think, barring injury, all of the prospects will at least be middle of the rotation or better guys, right??? but, unless they trade 2-3 of them, they won’t get a chance because…Teheran is going to clog up the rotation…too expensive to release, so he will keep the team from getting better (unless of course he finds that 5 MPH that abandoned him last year or so, but not too likely)
so, my point (I think I have one 😉 ) we likely have a “cheap” Ace that just needs a shot…

Who do you prefer in October to start a playoff game, Dallas Keuchel or Julio Teheran? Last October, Snit chose Anibal Sanchez over Julio in the playoffs. That says something to me.

And sadly, there are no more aces left in the deck. But if I can get DK at a decent value, I prefer him over Julio. I simply cannot trust Julio who is well into his career in Atlanta but has yet to truly establish himself. At some point, he has to either turn it up or move on to greener pastures.

I don’t want Gio Gonzalez or James Shields or any of those other retreads (with the possible exception of Clay Buchholz). But I’ll take a guy like Keuchel who is a proven horse, has plenty of high leverage experience, and would be a great leader for the youngsters.

And just so that I’m clear, I don’t want a veteran to take the place of any of our youngsters. I want a guy to replace Julio. Period. I love having one of Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Luiz Gohara or Touki Toussaint as a #5 with the others coming out of the pen. (Don’t sleep on Bryce Wilson, either.) They are all quality arms that we can employ right now.

I also wanted to mention, before I forgot….I HATE a lot of the “new” thinking, like for a century + no one had at some point thought of ideas of today. An opener. We all know that shifts were used 60 years ago…but, anyway…
shift makes some sense…really don’t think an opener was why the rays won 90 games (I am sure there are stats in games they used an opener) but…now to argue with my get off my lawn old fashioned ways…
I think the braves could really benefit from , 1, trading Julio for, anything you can get, then using 4 kids in the place of 2 regular starters. we know Soroka, Touki, etc are only going to 5 innings a lot of the time anyways, right? Why not 4 innings, then another starter (meaning knowing they are going to start the night before, prepping as a starter, not a reliever) comes in for the 5th, and goes 3 or 4, then a bullpen arm?
Gohara , like Folty, may just not do well as a reliever, so have Gohara start a game, and go 4, and have Kyle Wright then come in?
this keeps young arm’s innings down, but keeps them as starters, and hopefully keeps them fresh, down the stretch ….

Okay, before I completely get off the Julio bus, I know he can be an effective pitcher throw 89 if he can get movement. The velocity or lack there of was not the problem per se, it was he was not longer generating spin thus no movement. He could get guys to two strikes and then they just kept fouling him off until he made a mistake over the plate. Perhaps if he adopted the philosophy of pitching to weak contact (need movement) instead of still believing he is a strikeout pitcher, he could be successful. Let’s see if the new pitching coach has any answers.

This guy is a host on a local sports radio station. I don’t see how he could post something like this if he wasn’t confident in his source. He’ll be crucified if he’s wrong. And the natives are ready for war.

Says he’s not trying to be over or under any specific payroll amount… just trying to win games.

When asked specifically about Harper or Machado, he said, “We keep things close to the vest here. It doesn’t do us any good for people to know who we are trying to sign or who we are trying to trade for. And if it looks like we aren’t doing anything, I’ll have to wear that.” He continued that thought by inferring that just because the Braves have not been connected with any big offers, it doesn’t mean one couldn’t be made. Then he quickly followed by saying that he was NOT hinting that they were making one.

Asked about trading for a front line pitcher, he said, “If there is a deal that will make this team better, we will certainly look at it.”

Keeps repeating that depth is vital and important in getting through a season.

NOTE: Oddly, the topic of Craig Kimbrel was not even brought up by the interviewer.

I guess he failed to mention the foursome that included Kimbrel, Freeman, Thoppy and Dave Meter… That would just be a coincidence.

Well, it is nice to get at least some nuggets of information about players coming in. One Josh, that is one pretty big leg kick… Okay if it works for him but I see a lot of weak ground balls in that swing… Hey, whatever works, I am not about to try and change him at this point in his career.

Luiz Gohara is still a pretty big boy. We shall see how it works out for him but I will bet opposing teams will try to bunt on him a lot.

I like Ender’s attitude. He says his goal is to win a A World Series, not just to get back to the play-offs… Freddie seems fixated on getting back to the play-offs. Okay, I get it but Ender is right, don’t accept just okay and not strive for greatness. There is a reason the Yankees are the Yankees. 27 World Championships… Also why every team charges premium when the Yankees roll into town.

It has been noted many times that Riley will get plenty of time in the OF during the spring. I wonder if he takes to it well enough if there’s any possibility of him breaking camp as the 4th OF? That doesn’t really give Duvall a fair shake I suppose. Hopefully he has a good spring and secures the job for himself.

Not to worry, I’ll bet both get lots of time in the outfield in away games this spring. Lots of drills and other ways to prepare. I would love to have the very good problem of having players who’s bat forces a spot in the line up.

What does it say about a team when all of the players are there 5 days earlier than they are supposed to be? I think this team is excited about moving forward after last year’s success. They will not roll over because the national media has written them off again. I think it is a unique circumstance where the defending division champ still has an underdog’s edge.

As for me, I have also tempered my emotion driven rants from last week. After more reasonable consideration, I realize that the team has added more than they are being credited with.

Josh Donaldson was a big money signing. The fact that it happened so early doesn’t change that fact.

Mac will mean more to this team than just catching his share of games – whatever total that turns out to be. He may be the perfect addition for this young staff.

Darren O’Day is a veteran addition to our pen even if he was actually added last summer. Like JD, does the initial timing really matter? He’s still a strong addition. He’s healthy and experienced in big situations… and checks off one of the early boxes on the “To Do” list even if he was technically already on the roster.

Maybe adding Rick Kranitz as the new pitching coach mitigates the need to add another veteran starter. With Folty already taking a huge step forward, perhaps Newk is next. And even more importantly, perhaps Kranitz can connect with Julio. Storyline to watch: What can Kranitz do for former top prospect Kevin Gausman? Gausy is still just 28 himself. He still has time to realize the lofty potential that made him the 4th overall draft pick by the Orioles. (NOTE: Philly’s Aaron Nola credits Kranitz for helping him turn the corner and become an “ace”.)

Only time will tell if bringing Nick back was the right thing to do. The national press points to this move as the singular piece of evidence that Thoppy turned cheap and will not spend any money. I still preferred someone that profiled better to the cleanup role, but only time will tell if this was the right move or not. He’s certainly not a bum… just not the perfect fit to hit behind Freddie. Still, team chemistry is important, and there could not have been a better “addition” than Nick for that department.

Given that JD has emphatically stated he prefers the #2 spot in the lineup, and given that RAJ has not quite as emphatically stated his preference to remain in the leadoff spot, I imagine the lineup looking something like:

BREAKING: Manny Machado has agreed to terms on a deal with the Padres. According to a league source, it’s for 10 years and $300 million – the biggest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.

Wow. Seems like a good landing spot for him. Can Harper be much farther behind to sign? I’m betting today or tomorrow. Then the other big 2 will follow like dominoes… Keuchel and Kimbrel. Still holding out hope that CK comes back home.

So, it appears that we have a winner in the “where’s Manny Sweepstakes” reportedly is signing a 10 year $300MM guarantee with an opt out after five years with the Padres. Hey, San Diego is a really nice place to visit.

He turned down similar deal with the White Sox. I guess he did not want to take a chance on running into any Nigerians…

Padres are still a couple of years away from being a contender IMHO… NO PITCHING….
They lost 63 games last season and I just don’t see them making a 30 game swing in one year. We have seen the fathers try to assemble talent before but you still need to assemble a team.

So, the bar is set for Bryce Harper. “Hey Bryce.. The White Sox are calling”

Actually, the ChiSox offered more available money. The difference was that their offer was for 8 years / $250M in guaranteed money, with incentives and vesting options that could trigger 2 additional years and a possible $350M maximum value. But Manny opted for the greater guaranteed amount. Hard to blame him. It’s also hard to blame a guy from South Fla choosing San Diego over Chicago. I mean, when the number of average daily shootings is higher than the average daily temperature, it’s not a hard choice.

Padres are still a couple of years away from being a contender IMHO… NO PITCHING

Exactly right. But they are continuing to try to trade for another pitcher. They still have a surplus of OF’ers and some desirable relievers. And while they might find some help somewhere, it’s probably not going to matter anyway. Let’s face it, it’s going to be very tough to overcome the Dodgers even with more pitching, and there is a decent chance both Wild Cards could come from the NL East.

So the Phillies, who said they were going to spend “stupid money” this offseason, were quoted yesterday as saying they did not outbid SD for Manny because the money would not make sense for their business model over the life of the deal. Isn’t that what “stupid” means?

Good morning, looks like winter is hanging on here. Okay, it is still winter… ICK…

On the current media hoopla over the those mean owners not wanting to pay those wonderful player what they want.. Okay, players have the right to not accept a job just like owners don’t have the right to force a player to play. I never made as much money as I wanted but I did earn more than I deserved on occasion.

Now, sign Craig Kimbrel and it will all be okay. Sure, their are no guarantees in life, maybe even less so when it comes to pitching but I don’t see Visciano holding up this season. I’d rather have him as a set up guy than as the closer.

I am surprized the Phillies have not jumped on the Kimbrel band wagon already. I think it would be more powerful signing than Harper.

I need to research these numbers for myself, but I heard a breakdown of numbers from the local sports station’s “business” guy yesterday, regarding the apparent fallacy that the Braves for not spending.

According to him, and I am retelling this in general amounts, if you look at the breakdown of the money, they actually have added about $37M to the 2019 payroll for players who were not on the roster last year. That is the 4th (uh, maybe 5th now after San Diego, not sure) highest amount in MLB… higher than LAD, BOS, NYY, CHC, and all those typical big spenders.

And for those players who were here last year, it’s close to another $23M added back, including the new deal for Markakis and the contracts added back through arb agreements, etc. That’s near $60M total added back to the existing commitments, which themselves were right at about $60M already.

Thus, right now, they are sitting right around $120M in total payroll committed for 2019.

Still would love to add Kimbrel… Not sure he is a must have but then again, neither was Josh Donaldson. Craig just makes the Braves bullpen that much stronger and deeper. Yes, I’m sure the top brass would love to see what some of the young studs can do but they can do that at Cool Ray…

“The pitcher who topped out at a flabby 315 pounds last spring reported to camp this week at just below 275.

Teammates, coaches and others could hardly believe when they saw him for the first time since late summer. He’s 40 pounds lighter but with a more defined upper body, having reshaped his physique through weightlifting along with cardio work and dietary improvements.

“Everybody says they can notice in my shoulders,” Gohara said, his pride evident in a little smile. “I lost weight, but I didn’t stop working, I was putting in muscle what I was losing in fat.”

From DOB’s interview with Luiz Gohara in the Athletic

He really went thru horrible depression after he lost his father. I am glad the Braves did not give up on him.

So, did anyone else see Nike’s epic fail last night when Zion Williams had a tennis shoe blow out last night? Same is happening to Nike stock this morning. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving shoe company.

Phillies' total focus right now is on bryce harper. after harper signs (either with them or elsewhere), philly will consider dallas keuchel and/or craig kimbrel. one person thought keuchel's more likely since the pen is solid with robertson is aboard, but it could be either guy.

Prediction: Philly will miss out on Bryce, and will turn to Keuchel… and will be better for it. As much as I’d love to have Bryce on my team, he’s not quite as impactful as his legend right now. Philly will be a tougher team if they strengthen their rotation, IMO.

If you ask me today, I think Bryce will go to San Fran, but they will still not be a contender, much like San Diego with Machado. That said, that division will be a slugfest in 2020 when both Sans fill some holes. In the case of San Fran, they might fill some holes by trading MadBum to ATL at the deadline. It could happen.

As for Kimbrel..? Hard to say. I still think he’ll end up here if his demands drop a little more. But once Bryce signs, the leftover teams will all scramble to spend their money on a name, and Dirty Craig could still get his bank.

“I think I’ve got to learn from it. I’ve learned the most from failures in my career and in life. I’m just going to learn from that September that I had.”

Dan Winkler

Just like most of us in the real world… Never be afraid to let your children fail at something because it creates a lasting impression. To me it is why participation trophies are a farce. We create a nation of failures in the world arena but they at least have high self esteem.

I like Wink alot. I think he has tremendous talent and can be a force in our bullpen. And don’t forget, 2018 was just his first full season back from 2 serious elbow injuries. Remember seeing him fracture that elbow after coming back from TJ? I see 2019 as his best chance to realize his great potential… especially seeing that he is approaching last September as a learning experience.

Speaking of Bryce, Jon Heyman recently reported that “Bryce Harper is believed to have turned down multiple offers over 300M in recent weeks. at least 5 teams are believed still in contact.”

But that was before Manny signed, and San Diego, believed to be one of the 5 teams, has now said they’re out. Same with the ChiSox, who’s GM appears to be butthurt over being spurned by Manny.

So the remaining teams would be PHI, SFG and WSH.

IMO, the Nats are out. Some things have been leaked out to the media from some staff in Wash that is not very flattering of Bryce. That kind of stuff likely wouldn’t happen if the team was still making a push to bring him back. And in all honesty, it doesn’t make any sense for them anyway. I think they’re hanging around the periphery solely for PR purposes so they can tell their fanbase they made the effort. But with the young OF they will have without Bryce, combined with the greater need of extending Anthony Rendon, giving Bryce the keys to the vault makes no sense for them.

So that essentially leaves the Giants and Philthies. I get the feeling that Bryce has no desire to play in front of those Philly nutcase fans. (Who would?) I’m of the opinion he’s simply holding out for San Fran to match Philly’s offer.

Do, the Braves have oodles of young arms itching to make a name for themselves in the bigs. That is great and I hope they do but the difference between having a bevy of young strong arms in the pen vs a veteran like Craig is nerves… Someone who has been there and done that, someone who can remain cool under fire and come back the next night if things do always go as planned.

What did Flo say the biggest difference between 2017 Folty and 2018 Folty? He came back from adversity after one pitch instead of 3 hitters. That is the difference between a talented youngster and a talented veteran.

Now, if our new pitching coach can just teach Julio an out pitch to use on a hitter after he gets two strikes on the batter….

So, I guess the question to ask is if Bryce is so great, why doesn’t he have a WS ring? To be sure, San Fran may be a perfect fit of Bryce Harper. After all, they appear to be able to suffer fools gladly. They did have Barry Bonds on their team and I know of no one who had a bigger ego than big head. Well, maybe Reggie Jackson or possibly Ricky Henderson but modern era? Bryce might just be number one….

I do believe he has a great ego, but not anywhere near the “ass on the shoulders” character of Bonds or Reggie. It’s more of an extreme cockiness (backed up, BTW), and Ricky is a pretty good comp. That said, San Fran is quite capable of taking on a great ego, and Bryce would thrive hitting shots into the bay. That fanbase would practically worship him. It’s the best fit for him, IMO.

So, Dan Dowd projects Kimbrel 3 years – $48MM .. That was pretty close to mine.

Still they believe the Phillies are interested but could make their team much better signing Kimbrel, Gonzalas and Cuchel for about the same money but fewer years. I concur, Braves don’t need Marwin but could do the same.

It was just coach-pitch batting practice in the first week of spring training, but Josh Donaldson hit a home run that sailed so high and so far on a backfield at #Braves camp, one might've thought he hit it with an aluminum bat. #seriouspower

On a side note, prospect Drew Lugbauer, who was a catcher before moving to 3B in college, and was drafted as a catcher, has now moved permanently from behind the plate. Snit says he’s working exclusively at 3B/1B. He’s currently the Braves #29 prospect, and a power first LH hitter with alot of swing-and-miss in his bat, although he does show a good eye and draws a fair share of walks. His ceiling is probably as a bench bat and backup IF. He’s at least 2 more years away.

Actually, it is a very disappointing and discouraging thing. I imagine Soroka felt the same when he “tweaked it” lifting weights. Kind of like my experience with a chiropractor. One false move undid 6 months of therapy. Now the kid will be “gun shy” not knowing if he can ever let it go 100%.

Latest reports, from multiple writers, say that Craig Kimbrel’s asking price has not budged off of 5-yrs / $86M, which is what Aroldis Chapman got from the Yanks a couple years ago.

And that, my friends, is why he’s not in a Braves uniform yet. Not only are GM’s shortening deals in general, Craig is already 30, 2 years older than Chapman was when he got his record setting pact.

IMO, he should be pushing for the same $17.2M AAV, but over 3 years instead. That would probably get him a new deal. Heck, a 3 year deal at $17M per, with a team option for the 4th year at the same AAV, and a $5M buyout would guarantee him $56M and possibly $68M if he’s still dealin’ in 2021.

But here’s the thing…

While Viz always makes me nervous in tight situations, Minter is poised to have a breakout season, and prospect Jacob Webb is not far behind and proving himself more and more. He’s already on the 40-man roster and considered to have at least a shot at making the club out of spring this year.

At Gwinnett over the last half of last season, he produced a minuscule 0.98 WHIP in 31.2 IP. with 34 K’s. Over 166.1 IP in his pro career, his WHIP is a still sparkling 1.19, and he’s averaged 11.09 K’s / 9 IP. Not too shabby. He is the closer of the future unless a certain highly rated Free Agent finds his way home.

And let’s not forget about Chad Sobotka, whose repertoire proved itself in the last part of last season in ATL. That kid has something special as well.

I gotta say, as much as I hear some of the national talkers and writers express concerns about our bullpen, I personally don’t see it that way. We’ve got talent already. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like a proven door slammer to make it better.

Watching the replay of yesterday’s Mets v Gwinnett contest and a couple of conclusions so far: Koby Allard is a soft tosser, he is going to have to learn how to get some Greg Maddux type movement on his pitches if he is to be successful in the Show, Riley looks good at third, not as great at the plate.

Dodgers’ late Harper involvement is quite a surprise. Their presence in Vegas (via @JesseSanchezMLB) suggests they are serious tho there was no hint of this earlier. Uncertain if it was triggered by Padres’ splash, #SFGIants involvement or something else. But it’s quite a twist.

Okay folks, I watched bot per season games via delayed telecasts and was not overly impressed except maybe with Ozzie who showed some pretty impressive range. They also gave me an added appreciation to the prowess of Freddie Freeman because he was not playing and a couple of errors the Braves made were on throws to first that Freddie makes routinely.

Luke Jackson??? Did the Braves pitch him to make the other relievers look good?

It is really unfair to judge a team based on two away games which was played by mostly Triple A players.

Oh, on Sunday, Acuna led off with a single, went first to third on a single up the middle by Ozzie who took 2nd on an ill advised throw by the center fielder to third. So, 2nd and 3rd, no one out and they were stranded there. UGH! Everyone wants to hit a 3 run homer when a single would have scored two…

Okay, on brighter news, the Nats play at Disney today so we should get to see some of the big boys.

John Kincade, a host on the local sports radio station that is the Braves flagship station, ran into Craig Kimbrel in the Orlando airport on Friday and chatted with him. According to Kincade, their conversation included some things that are on the record as well as some that are not. Among those that are, he said that he was NOT in Orlando to meet with the Braves, but to meet with some friends, including some current Braves. He also said he is anxious to get into a camp as soon as possible. His hangup is solely centered on his perception that no team has stepped up yet with the “level of commitment” to him that he feels he has earned. Translation: he wants more guaranteed years and dollars than have yet been offered (reportedly 5 years / $86M). Kincade also got the impression that Craig still loves the Braves and would welcome an opportunity to return.

I have mentioned before that I believe Waters has moved ahead of Cristian Pache on the Braves radar. Could he supplant Nick as early as 2020? Don’t be surprised although his trajectory is more likely 2021.

Waters is a proverbial “5 tool” player that could play any spot in the OF and hit for both average and power. His scouting report says he has “considerable raw power”, plus arm, plus field, and plus speed. All he really lacks is reps at the higher levels of the minors to refine his eye and timing.

There is the distinct possibility that in a couple of years the Braves could sport an OF with 3 true CF’s spread around giving them the best defensive OF in the majors. And in 2022 when Pache replaces Ender, that defense could be even better.

Latest reports on Bryce say that the Dodgers do not want to go long term but are willing to go with an eye popping AAV to get him short term. IMO they would have to really blow him away to accomplish that even though he prefers the bright lights and big stage of LA.

(BTW- the unedited version of this comment had the following typo: eye pooping. Let’s all hope that nothing is ever eye pooping.)

Reportedly, the Phillies have the money and length in place for a deal, but that’s not the hangup. Reportedly Scott Boras is insisting on an opt-out after the 3rd year, whereas the Phillies are insisting on the 4th year at minimum. Why is Boras holding firm on 3? Bryce would still be 29, and not 30. So the reality is that they want the team to commit to Bryce for 10 years, but they are willing to only commit to the team for 3.

… being played by Scott Boras. I guarantee he set up the meeting between the Dodgers and Bryce. Probably told the Dodgers in private to make a short term offer, then publicly stayed with the long term narrative.

Phillies have offered Bryce Harper over $300M but word is others are over $300M, too. they believe they may have high bid but their confidence to win was dented a tad by emergence of LA (a desired Harper spot). Philly has to decide whether to keep faith or dip into the stupid $

the Phillies, whose owner suggested he’d spend stupid $, have had stellar winter (Realmuto, Segura, Cutch). but their big free agent forays have come up short. they lost on Corbin by $40M & Machado by unknown millions. it feels like Harper is guy they/their fans want most tho.

there’s been serious action among calfiornia teams lately. word is the padres checked back in on Bryce following news of LA’s surprise emergence. the giants are also in, and one wonders whether even logical LA’s renewed interest was triggered a bit by SF (& their former gm Zaidi)

there’s been a lot of talk lately about teams showing short-term interest, but barring some wild offer (200M-plus, 4 years?), Harper is only considering long-term deals. 1 interested GM said Team Bryce made clear that teams had to profess they’d go long to even get a meeting.

earlier, dodgers were only interested in short-term deal. is it possible they were granted meeting w/o long-term commitment due to desired locale/stage? possible. but as likely LA re-evaluated. short-term deal with certain super high AAV would also be worse for tax in near term.

Once again, Scott Boras shows why he’s the one the stars turn to to maximize their value. He simply knows how to tilt the market toward his client.

IMO, Bryce wants LA and he’s willing to wait a little longer to allow them to move closer to his demands. I’m not gonna lay a percentage “for entertainment purposes only” or anything, but I can’t help but get the impression that Bryce doesn’t like Philly and would take an offer from #1 LAD, #2 SFG, or #3 SDP if it would approach the vicinity of what Philly is offering.

Good morning Stuffville, it is old home week at the Braves spring training complex…

B Mac makes his spring training debut today… Yea…

Newcomb on the bump for the good guys and Ended again gets a start.

One thing for sure about Scott Boras and Bryce Harper, they sure know how to keep the bright lights shinning directly upon themselves.

Clutch is hilarious, hes comments on what it is like to step in the box for his first at bat of the spring and the hurler is tossing 95 mph BBs. Says it feels like he is 0-2 before his name is even announced.

BREAKING: Third baseman Nolan Arenado and the Colorado Rockies are finalizing an eight-year, contract extension worth more than $255M, league sources tell ESPN. Deal includes an opt-out after three years, would give Arenado the largest per-year salary of any position player.

Hoooey that’s a big deal! But what might he have gotten on the open market? This extension, much like the one Aaron Hicks signed with NYY yesterday [7 yrs / $70M], is a sure sign that the players are now wary of 2 things: 1) they no longer trust the Free Agent process after the last 2 offseasons, and 2) they are quite aware that the whole landscape could change with the next CBA just 2 years away.

Saw this quote this morning: “A lot of people ask me about all our pitching prospects, and the first name that comes out of my mouth is Max Fried” — Freddie Freeman

Remember, Max is a big lefty with a plus mid- to upper-90’s heat and a plus big ol’ 12-6 hammer. He also has a quality changeup that is considered “average” in that he at times has difficulty hitting the catcher’s target with it. But the arm speed is still very good. As a prospect, his major league comp was Cole Hamels. Not a bad comp, eh?

There is at least a small belief that if the Braves could move Julio’s full contract, Max could fill the #4 starter spot. But at this point in the spring, moving Julio would only happen if another team lost a pitcher to major injury and had no depth.

I hate not having video of games even… I would have liked to have seen the inside the park homer in the top of the ninth. I was stuck with watching the Mets getting handled by the Tigers. The Tigers did have a pretty slick fielding shortstop playing for them today.

Everytime a player signs a big contract, Harper’s asking price goes up. I am beginning to think he has become a legend in his own mind.

Getting their first hit of the spring allows a player to relax a bit methinks. I am especially glad for prospect Riley to get his first knocks and a RBI to boot. Amazing what can happen when you stop trying to hit 5 run homers every at bat.

Morning Bryce news: An unsubstantiated report says that the Giants ownership is in favor of offering a long term deal to Bryce, but new GM Farhan Zaidi is against it. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but it’s an interesting possible twist to keep an eye on. Bryce would be a rock star in San Francisco, and we all know he strongly prefers Cali. If I personally could hand pick a landing spot for him (aside from Atlanta), it would be San Fran. I just think it’s a perfect fit.

Adam Duvall was 0-2 yesterday. With Adam Jones still out there on the FA market, could the Braves have a quick fuse on Duvall? His deal is NOT guaranteed for 2019 and he can be cut in Spring Training with very little financial ramifications. The RH hitting Jones looks to me to be a perfect compliment for Nick in RF, especially if we are talking about limiting Nick’s appearances in 2019.

I’ve been fairly outspoken recently on my belief that Nick would never be a part of a platoon… and that he would never agree to it. But that was before he signed back here for the relatively paltry $4M. Signing Jones and employing a RF platoon with Jones (33-years-old) / Markakis (35-years-old) would save both from late season fatigue, not to mention strengthen the bench dramatically.

Much has been said early in Spring about how Snit will construct his batting order, and about some of the players’ individual preferences for said order. For instance, Freddie will never be moved from the 3 spot in Atlanta, and JD has talked openly about why he prefers the #2 spot. RAJ has said he “likes” hitting leadoff, but will defer to his manager’s decision. And we know we don’t currently have a real cleanup guy. As for the manager, he says he’ll put his order together the way he wants to, and that he’s already told his players it may be different than their preference. I’ve heard Snit openly say he’s like to bat Ender in the leadoff spot and RAJ at cleanup.

And this is where I part from Snit and from the traditional look of a lineup. Having Ender “set the table” from leadoff, and having runners on for a run producing cleanup hitter might be the classic way things have been done, but it’s already been shown to be less than optimal. And if JD and Freddie are doing what JD and Freddie typically do, how often will our cleanup hitter come to bat with RISP anyway?

But all that aside, I’ll simply approach it from more practical standpoint.

Real logic tells you that the guy who bats “leadoff” only really truly leads off in the 1st inning. Other than that is left to chance. Similar logic tells you that the guy who bats first in the game will always have the most Plate Appearances in the game. And over the course of a season, it becomes an even more drastic difference. The numbers show that on average, the game’s leadoff hitter will come to the plate +/- 600 times over the course of 162 games, whereas the #4 hitter steps to the plate on average +/- 558 times… or 42 fewer opportunities.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather my best hitter (and possible MVP candidate) have those additional 42 PA’s. Wouldn’t you?

I just looked back at MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents from this year and realized that as much as the MLBPA wants to gripe about all the players not yet signed, only 6 are in this Top 50, those being Bryce Harper, Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel, Gio Gonzalez, Bud Norris, Adam Jones, and Martin Maldonado.

#1 Bryce, #4 Keuchel, and #5 Craig all have had offers but are holding out by choice. Each would already be in a camp if they weren’t waiting for bigger offers. They shouldn’t count in the argument.

#27 Gio isn’t horrible, but is rated too highly here. He certainly isn’t the same pitcher that won 15 games in WAS in 2017. He had a huge jump in WHIP and ERA last season, although he seemed to regain some magic late in the year after being traded to MIL. He’ll eventually find a deal on a team that finds itself short on starters as spring progresses. He isn’t any better than a #4 or #5 starter at this point. Gio is the Free Agent version of Julio Teheran.

I can’t figure out #40 Bud Norris unless he’s asking too much. He had a good 2018 for the Cards in relief actually becoming their closer mid-season and racking up 28 saves. I’d think a team in need of a hard throwing veteran would be all over him. He did make an agent change a couple of weeks ago, so maybe he just hasn’t been getting good representation. To be truthful, I wouldn’t mind adding him here if Dirty C can’t be had.

#46 Adam Jones reportedly wants a full time CF job, and he isn’t going to get that. I didn’t realize until reading on MLBTR that he vetoed that potential trade to Philly last August because he didn’t want to move to RF and didn’t want to play part time. That alone pretty much kills any chance of him coming here unless he’s changed his mind while watching everyone else playing spring games.

#47 Maldonado is a head scratcher. He’s a very good defensive catcher, maybe the best at throwing out would be base stealers. I am surprised he hasn’t found a job somewhere, especially since catching seems to be at a premium right now. I cannot imagine he’ll remain unemployed much longer.

Excellent points all Vee, as for Maldonado, everybody wants a catcher who can drive in 100 runs a year, defense be damned. Sad but it is the way of fantasy baseball…

Gio? Oh lord please no….

Bud Norris? Okay, this year’s version of Jim Johnson maybe.

Adam Jones? Great player who has become older and does not realize it. He must not have any mirrors in his house.

So, the new GM in San Fran does not want to be saddled with the Bryce Harper ego trip… smart man but owners may be forgetting San Frans history with player like the Panda…

Last comment… You have to wonder if the Braves feel as if they are on the horns of a dilemma, all to good, cheap young arms vs paying big money for a proven closer. I think the Braves would cement their staff with the addition of dirty c but are suffering from sticker shock.

And under the heading of “Stuff” … Va Commonwealth played a heck of a basketball game last night, holding off St Louis in A-10 action. I realize the A10 is not the ACC or the SEC or Big 10 but hey, they are a pretty exciting bunch.

And Va Tech knocks off not so deep Duke which has been exposed as a two player team with Zion Williams being absent due to a sneaker blow out. My goodness how Nike must be dreading the multi million dollar lawsuit against Nike which is being prepared as I speak by a bevy of ambulance chasers.

The San Francisco Giants stepped up their pursuit of free agent outfielder Bryce Harper with another meeting in Las Vegas Tuesday, according to multiple sources.

Giants CEO Larry Baer and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi were in Las Vegas, Harper’s hometown, to meet with the coveted free agent and agent Scott Boras for a second time in a matter of weeks.

For those keeping score, that’s 2 meetings in the last week. The last time it was Zaidi and manager Bruce Bochy. Is it notable that the CEO made the trip this time? I believe it is on its own merit, but especially given that unconfirmed report I read earlier today saying Baer is amenable to a long term deal. I believe it’s also notable that the Giants CEO is much more hands on with the Giants day-to-day operations than is his Braves counterpart Terry McGuirk.

Okay…. Braves kiddies shut out St Louis today in Jupiter and win by a score of 4-0. Watching the Mets play the Marlins on TV. Spring training is a weird time to watch games on TV… So many players with large numbers on their jerseys.

Braves’ Kyle Wright started and allowed 2 hits, no runs, no walks with 3 strikeouts in 2 scoreless innings today vs. Cardinals. He retired first 5, then gave up double and single before a 2-out ground-out.

Braves reliever Luke Jackson rebounded from his bad first outing to post two strikeouts in a perfect third inning today vs. Cardinals.

Prospect Kolby Allard pitched 2 hitless innings with 2 walks.

[Kyle] Muller sharp again as the mammoth Braves pitching prospect struck out two in a perfect 8th inning of 4-0 win over Cardinals.

[Joey] Wentz walked 1 and struck out 1 in a hitless 9th.

Braves’ [Patrick] Weigel was mid-90s w/ fastball Wednesday; pre-TJ he usually sat mid-90s, topped out couple times at 100 mph. 1st game in front of crowd since he blew out [elbow] June ’17[, 2017]. Next-day report Thurs: “It’s, like, weird pitching and not having that soreness in there. It feels good.”

NOTE: Weigel did not pitch in Wednesday’s game vs. the Cards, or at least his name is not in the box score. He must have thrown a side session back in camp. Not sure who the “crowd” is that Mr. O’B referred to.

Brian​ McCann sat alone,​ on the floor,​ in a small​ video​ room.​ None​ of​ his​ teammates​ knew​​ he was in there. Most were still out in the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field, drenched in cheap champagne and beer, celebrating a division title. They didn’t even notice McCann slip out because he didn’t want anybody to see him break down in tears.

“It’s like it all hit me,” the former and once-again Braves catcher said Wednesday. “I had to get out of there. You grow up in Atlanta, play for your hometown team for nine years, and you know it’s coming to an end and … I just got emotional.” from Shultz’s column in the Atlantis on B-Mac

Look at the attention to detail from Josh Donaldson in spring training! Donaldson is a very dynamic loader but is concentrating on the feel of his coil and load around his back leg then crushes a laser! #AttentionToDetailpic.twitter.com/oS9mp2fF4i

We Braves fans need to be excited to have another major talent bear the Tomahawk. Not sure any of realize yet what AA has brought us. He’s a superstar that we NL fans haven’t had the chance to fully appreciate. Yet.

McCann worked hard to focus on the season, putting business aside. But the emotions of his imminent departure finally caught up with him in late September when the Braves clinched the National League East in Chicago. He initially took part in the celebration, then looked around the room “to take it all in.”

Why?

“I knew that might be it, and I wanted the memory,” he said. “I’m glad I did because it’s a memory I’ll have forever.”

That’s when the moment got too big. So he left the room, seeking solitude in a small video room adjacent to the clubhouse. There he sat for 20 minutes, crying.

Only Boras knows exactly who's offered what for Harper; officials involved are left to guess. Among latest shards of info:1. PHI believed by some execs to still have highest $ offer.2. LAD interest still predicated on shorter-team deal.3. Giants in heavy, unsure of chances.

So, the Braves take on the Tigers today at Disney. Why am I not excited? Maybe it’s because it is still February, possibly the longest 28 day month in history. I suspect the calendar makers only put 28 days in February because they knew society would not be able to abide by a month like February for any longer period of time.

Markakis makes his 2019 debut today, in other Braves news, Peter Moylan announces he is retiring (no offers) from major league baseball and will be taking his family to Italy for vacation/baseball there. Hey, saw the guy come up thru Richmond in 2006, he was funny then and still funny now. Carried around a little leather pouch of “Roo Nads” for luck. I always thought that was a bit funny because obviously the Kangaroo was not so lucky.

Position/bench:
Looks like FLORIMON wants the last position slot more than DUVALL.
So I’m seeing DUVALL being picked after he’s waived the last week of ST.

The rotation:
This is the young guys time to shine, and they’ll all that.
Seeing the BRAVES pass on anyone else for the rotation this offseason, they have the bit in their teeth.
WRIGHT might beat out TOUSSAINT for a fifth slot.
We do need another LH’er in the rotation, however.
And we do need TEHERAN to move on.
RH
FOLTYNEWICZ
GAUSMAN
TOUSSAINT
WRIGHT
LH
NEWCOMB

Need a LH’er to move up, but GOHARA missing so far., and WENTZ, MULLER just don’t fit right yet.
A trade of TEHERAN for a one year LH’er rental would do.

So I’m seeing DUVALL being picked after he’s waived the last week of ST

Actually he doesn’t have that long. I believe if the Braves release him before the 16th day of Spring Training they would only have to pay him $500,000 of his $2.875M agreement. If the 1st workout for players was Feb. 24, then the 16th day of ST would be right around March 12.

Anybody noticed we haven’t seen nor heard anything about Folty thus far? Apparently he’s dealing with some “elbow tenderness” and has been officially scratched this morning from his 1st spring start that was scheduled for tomorrow.

Precautionary? Maybe. But the whispers I’ve heard say he was dealing with some level of discomfort late last season and fought through it.

I never like to hear about any pitcher dealing with elbow “tenderness”, or “soreness” as I heard mentioned another place… but most especially when it’s my projected Opening Day starter. If this turns out to be something unspeakable, AA will have to make some very hard decisions.

Bowman: Folty will not start tomorrow because he felt elbow soreness during Sunday’s start in West Palm. Folty dealt with elbow discomfort during parts of last season. Snit says he’d pitch if this was the regular season. But a timetable won’t be set until Folty is evaluated by Dr. Lourie Saturday.

R-i-g-h-t. “He’d pitch if this was the regular season”… that’s why he’s being evaluated by Dr. Lourie.

And just like that, we are down 2 of our projected starting 5, plus 1 of those fighting for the #5 slot.

If Folty is down for any significant period of time, then it is absolutely incumbent upon AA to go find us another veteran starter. Could this be the crack in the door that prompts discussions with Dallas Keuchel?

I say that because I still don’t think he’ll part with multiple young arms in trade to receive 1 veteran arm. And given the volatility of any pitching staff, you have to have numbers… depth.

I suppose Snit’s optimism aside, if the regular season were to start this week, the Braves have enough young pitching to still field a good if inexperienced rotation. It would look something like Newk, Julio, Touki, Fried and Wright?

#Braves' Folty had a DL stint in June 2016 for bone chip in the elbow, and it bothered him some last season though not enough to force him to miss a start. (He had a DL stint last June for triceps tightness)

Just for discussion, Dallas Keichel (31) is seeking in the neighborhood of 4 years / $82M. The other ranked starter still available on the FA market is Gio Gonzalez (33), expected to cost about $12M or so, and seeking 2 years; although at this point he’d probably take a 1 year ML contract. Clay Buchholz (34) is still out there too, and had a bit of a renaissance last season after signing late with ARI. That’s about it for Free Agents.

Bryse Wilson will now make Friday’s start instead of Folty. Wilson is my dark horse candidate for the 5th starter job. He’s a bulldog on the mound and has real ML talent even if he isn’t spoken of in the same lofty realms as Soroka and Wright. Wilson is a solid 6’1″/225 lbs. and brings a plus fastball in the mid-90’s with sinking movement that leads to a ton of ground ball outs. He’s also got a quality tight slider with late break, but it sometimes looks more like a curve depending on the angle he throws it. Pitch #3 is a ML quality changeup that he throws just to keep batters honest as his fastball/slider combo is his bread and butter. He may have the best command of any of our young rotation candidates which is why I like him to have a good shot at the 5th spot.

The Los Angeles Dodgers don’t really need him, but suddenly badly want him. The San Francisco Giants may not win with him, but he can be their greatest one-man marketing act since Barry Bonds. The Philadelphia Phillies may be the most desperate to acquire him, but no matter how much money they offer, are beginning to wonder if it even matters.

Agent Scott Boras, starting to receive the offers he envisioned when Bryce Harper’s free agency began 117 days ago, has begun circling back with other teams in recent days, three people with direct knowledge of the negotiations told USA TODAY Sports, seeing if they are in or out in the final hand of this high-stakes poker game.

These people, who declined to speak publicly since talks are on-going, have been told the Dodgers, Giants and Phillies have vowed to provide Harper with either the biggest overall free-agent contract in North American sports history, or the largest average annual salary anyone has ever received in the sport.

The Phillies and Giants have offered 10-year contracts worth at least $300 million, while the Dodgers have discussed a shorter-term contract that would obliterate Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke’s $34.3 million average salary.

I am generally not one to have a knee jerk reaction, but this easily makes the Phils the class of the division.

Their rotation sports Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta and Nick Pivetta, they picked up one of the best relievers in the FA market in David Robertson, they added JT Realmuto, Jean Segura and Cutch to their lineup… and now they finally spent their “stupid” money on Bryce Harper.

This guy not only was convinced Bryce was staying close to home on the west coast, but was privately praying he’d stay out of the NL East… and especially far away from the Phils. I’d prefer he’d stayed in Wash over this.

What a day to be a Braves fan. Learned 3 important pitchers are dealing with physical issues, had a top rotation candidate get torched in his 2nd start, and lost ground in the division hierarchy all before 3pm.

Bryce Harper’s deal with the Philadelphia Phillies includes a no-trade clause, league sources tell ESPN. Combine that with the 13-year, $330 million term, and this much is clear: Bryce Harper is committed to being a Philadelphia Phillie for the rest of his career.

I heard today that Julio is not guaranteed a spot in the rotation just based on experience and contract. He’s got to earn it. But then again, that was before the “other” pitcher news of which I will not mention again.

There was some positive pitching news today, though. Bowman reported a little while ago that “Soroka revealed no problems after he was cleared to begin throwing again. The Braves will build him back up before clearing him to begin throwing off a mound.”

Hard throwing veteran reliever Bud Norris is off the board, too, after inking a deal with the Jays.

Remember when Norris made 5 starts for the Braves in mid-2016, tossing to a sparkling 2.15 ERA before being dealt to the Dodgers for pitching prospects Phil Pfeifer and Caleb Dirks? Pfeifer reached AAA last season as a reliever, but has not put up great numbers along he way. Dirks similarly reached AAA and had better numbers, but not eye popping. Still, either could show up in the major league bullpen in 2019 as the season grinds through.

Clay Buchholz also going to the Jays. I would not have been surprised to hear of him coming here after today’s “news”. He went 7-2 with a 2.01 ERA in 16 starts for the Snakes last season after signing late. We would have been a good candidate to fill the “Anibal Sanchez” role here this year.

In Bryce Harper talks, I am told #Dodgers were willing to offer a four-year deal worth approximately $45 million per season. That would have allowed Harper to shatter the all-time AAV record and become a free agent at age 30. @MLB@MLBNetwork

I can’t help but wonder how much happiness he and his family will derive from all that money. The kids especially. The second generation seldom fares well in those circumstances. It just really fires my bacon when money is first and foremost with somebody. Must be some empty, unhappy lives there.

Gordon LawrenceFebruary 28, 2019 at 11:51 amPosition/bench:Looks like FLORIMON wants the last position slot more than DUVALL.

And after yesterday, Pedro Florimon is 4-9 in spring with 2 HRs, 4 R scored and 3 RBI. All the while he has played SS, 3B, and LF this spring already. Don’t forget that last year in Philly he played SS, 3B, 2B, CF, RF, and even pitched (2 innings I think). His only full season in the majors was at SS with the Twins in 2013. Did we note that he’s a switch-hitter?

What is the one thing that AA and Snit have proven to value above all else? Versatility. In fact, Snit said yesterday to radio reporter Kevin McAlpin about Pedro, “He’s an interesting guy. You look at versatility, which we do look for. He’s a valuable guy in our scheme of things. You like what you see in him.”

Does that mean he’s already got a leg up on Adam Duvall for the last bench spot? Probably not as he’s still a non-roster guy and has a career .211/.270/.319 slash line in the majors. And since he’s here on a minor league deal, he can simply open the season in AAA and provide some depth in case Johan or Charlie go down.

Still, Duvall better pick it up. He did make a nice diving catch yesterday, but his defense has never been in question. And it’s not his glove that the Braves will need off the bench late in a game with a RISP.

One would have to think that Adam Duvall has been a bit of a disappointment to the Braves. After making a trade for him at the deadline last year, he proceeded to hit worse than he had at Cincy which is why the Reds were so willing to part with him. He has 15 days to start making solid contact with the ball. Hits can be misleading but hitting the ball hard somewhere is always a plus, even if it is at somebody.

Strikeouts and popups are just not going to get it done…

Anyone else think that Ronald Acuna eyes popped when he saw the kind of money teams are will to shell out when you have elite (and sometimes not so elite) talent?

Now a parting shot at the Braves front office: I would be much happier if the Braves front office were talking about signing Kimbrel and/or Kuchel than being all in on real estate deals. No, they don’t have to sign a player for $300MM yet but they will have to at some point. The money has to be there somewhere, how else does a team like the Padres sign a Machado in a market roughly the size of the Atlanta market while the Braves still cry poverty?

Now a parting shot at the Braves front office: I would be much happier if the Braves front office were talking about signing Kimbrel and/or Kuchel than being all in on real estate deals.

… especially after the report came out yesterday citing the Braves quarterly corporate earnings reports. (Ever wonder if Liberty Media regrets making the Braves a separate line item on those earnings reports?) Anyway, those reports show that for the calendar year ’18, the Braves earnings increased 15% to $442M. Also, operating income before interest/depreciation rose from $7M in ’17 to $94M in ’18.

I get that there is still debt from building out The Battery, which is the source of all this new revenue. But as a fan of the team on the field I’d like to see just a little bit of this cash flow directed back to the centerpiece that makes it all work in the first place.

Gimme a few extra $M to spend this year and I’ll give you a team that will keep pace with the free-spending Philthies. I’ll go get Craig, which should be a no-brainer for the Braves anyway, and maybe another starting pitcher. Not so sure it would be Dallas Keuchel, TBH. I see now that he’s repped by Scott Boras and they are asking 5 years at $22M-$25M per year. That won’t happen for Keuchel, who is already on the wrong side of 30 (31) and whose velo has begun to show a downward trend. And Thoppy might as well not even engage Boras if that’s the starting point.

Perhaps the Jays signing Clay Buchholz yesterday is a pre-cursor for them looking to move Marcus Stroman, who had some fairly negative things to say about the organization recently in the press.

We’ve talked a good bit about Waters, but not so much about the lefty tosser Muller. He’s still a kid at 21, and a big boy at 6’6″/ 225 lbs. He throws a 92-93 mph fastball with movement, and a curve with tight spin and downward break. As with many starter prospects, he also has a 3rd pitch in a changeup that’s reported to have “good depth”. Not sure what that means, but I’m glad it’s “good”. I can only assume that means it has enough difference in velo from his fastball to generate some swing-and-miss, or at least bad contact. His progress pushed him through 3 levels last year, from low-A Rome through high-A Florida up to AA Mississippi. In 5 starts at AA (29.0 IP) he allowed only a .206 batting average from opposing batters and sported a very impressive 0.97 WHIP.

Kevin Gausman, slowed by some shoulder soreness, tells me he's "about a week behind everybody…but…I'll be ready to go for the first time through [in the regular season]." Didn't seem concerned when we spoke this AM.#Braves@680TheFan

As with every new season, there are 2 off days already built into the first 5 games, so it’s conceivable that we can get through the first week of the regular season and the first turn through the rotation with just 3 healthy starters. That would theoretically leave the door open for Gausy/Soroka/Folty to join the group as late as April 7. And it cannot be understated how important it now is to have retained our depth with guys like Fried, Toussaint, Wright, Wilson, Weigel and Allard… and hopefully Gohara soon as well.

As long as there is no structural damage to Folty’s elbow (it hurts to even type that), we may be fine to ride some young arms early and not overreact by signing a Gio Gonzalez or similar hurler.

Will I be the only one constantly looking all weekend for the results of Folty’s doc exam? I may need to buy a portable phone charger…

Snit said the medical staff decided to delay Donaldson's debut for a couple more days. Donaldson has not been limited in any way since arriving in camp. But given battled ailments (calf in 2017 and shoulder in 2018) the past two springs, they don't want to push him early.

Braves' Mike Foltynewicz (elbow), who had Friday start scratched, says he feels better: "If this thing happened during the season I wouldn’t miss a start. It’s a good thing we have time right now." Still, there's no certainty about Opening Day.

I hate the mantra about “if it was the regular season blah blah blah”, but I get it. As I understand, this is something he actually did pitch through last season… it’s just that the team is wanting to address it now and see exactly what he’s dealing with at a time that will impact the 2019 season the least. If it costs him a couple of weeks of April, then so be it. I’d rather have him healthy in Sept. and Oct.

According to Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki, “Before the Bryce Harper news broke yesterday, the Phillies had sold roughly 200,000 more tickets than at this same point last year. They have sold about 100,000 tickets since.”

100.000 game tickets just in the hours following the news of the signing.

What would a high profile signing do for Braves ticket sales? And how much would those additional visitors to the ballpark spend in The Battery while out there? And how much higher would the local TV ratings be, which translates into more advertising $$… and doesn’t even take into account the additional national games.

As we’ve said many, many times… these things do not happen in a vacuum.

ESPN analyst and infamous former Brave Mark Teixeira says the Braves are still his favorite in the NL East. He says he still loves the great young talent in Atlanta and believes the Phillies rotation to be very suspect. He essentially says they have Aaron Nola and not much else. Ouch!

Perhaps the Braves should sign Keuchel if for no other reason than to keep him out of Philly.

Will make $11,166,667 in 2019; has a $1M buyout on a $12M team option for 2020. Was passed over in starting during last year’s NLDS in favor of the since-departed Anibal Sanchez. Did face 5 batters in relief.

I was eating out with a friend last night when I saw the Harper news…drat….really hoped the Giants would win the Harper sweepstakes…Harper, just like Manny B.E. are all about money first, and foremost. Not that they aren’t on good teams, but both picked teams far from their respective homes, for the benefit of a few million over a decade + And Harper is a streaky hitter…the phillie fans will love him when he hits, but, reports of how much he makes per A.B. will come back out when he’s 0-4. I mean, Philly folks booed Santa, and Mike Schmidt, even when he homered in the 1st, cuz he struck out 3 times in the same game…if he’s hitting .180 at the end of April…he will hate taking that deal….I guess like Stanton, the Yankees can come to the rescue in 3-4 years…
but…if he has a good year, yeah, they are likely the team to beat this year….

For Bryce, I do think there is something to the discussion that he can be a perennial 40 HR hitter in that Little League park in Philly. By contrast, according to ESPN, “No ballpark in baseball depresses home runs more than (SanFran’s Oracle) Park, and especially lefty hitters’ homers. The game’s deepest right-center field measurement (421 feet) and 21-feet-high fence in both right-center and right fields are largely responsible.”

I had not factored that in (nor had I thought about the oppressive Cali taxes) when I called the Giants my favorites to sign him.

So, Braves pitchers continue to pull up lame (figure of speech because unless you are walking on your hands it would be difficult to come up lame due to a shoulder/elbow/arm issue) but I am sure y’all being the sage readers you all are get my meaning….

Now, where was I? Oh yea, the long list of folks reporting to sick bay. It makes me sick…

Did these player not do any off season conditioning? Is it time to hire Leo Mazonni as a consultant to show the modern player the benefits of long toss? One thing you cannot get out of a computer analyst is how to strengthen a shoulder. Or maybe you can but evidently something is getting lost in translation.

Not exactly a pair of red letter days for young prospects Bryce Wilson or Touki Toussaint, then again, throwing all fastballs to start off a game does come with some risk. Are the Braves holding back on Julio so other teams so his trade value doesn’t drop or is he nursing an ailment too?

Alright, enough of the negativity, time for the Braves front office to do something beside trying to blow smoke up our collective butts and restore our will to live.

Minter was involved in a fender bender Wednesday night. He believes the shoulder tightness felt yesterday was a result of the minor accident. He contends he’d have continued pitching had it been the regular season.

V, I didn’t think about the tax consequences of Cali either. I wonder if Manny B.E.’s agent thought of that???
V, Barry Bonds had no trouble hitting homers in San Fran! It’s not like he had any advantage that…oh, right…

Max Friend has a cut on his pinky fingers….Peter Moylan’s retirement is going to be a short one, I predict….
and the nats may be interested in Kimbrel??? oh swell, just what I want to see, the Phils or Nats getting him

Good morning all, not exactly a red letter day for the Braves yesterday at Lakeland but it was after all, a ball game. Marlins swim into Lake Buena Vista today for an afternoon game. I expect all who are not scheduled to play will get their work in early and be on the links this afternoon.

VCU nipped University of Richmond in basketball. YEA! The game was a lot closer than I expected to be but the thing about collage hoops is you never know, just ask UVA how that worked out for them last year in the NCAAs…

Ugh… it is still winter. That said, a cold rain beats snow any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Daylight savings time starts next weekend. I do wish the powers that be would stop fooling around with the clock and use DST all year round.

So, have the Braves signed anyone new this week? Is Adam Duval still hanging on/around?

Some real positives to come out of today’s match vs the Marlins: 1) Three really good innings out of Newk. 2) Viz striking out the side in his one inning of work and 3) Adam Duval finding his stroke with a 2 home day after being 0 for 10 this spring. and 4) I guess I should add Freddi hitting a double in the first Inning and Flo driving him in with a long ball.

I know, it is just spring training but it is way better to win than lose I have gotten little old to be satisfied with moral victories.

Not to be a Debbie downer but… Jessie Biddle struggling and Joey Wentz not being able to finish things off in the ninth show there is still work to do.

Folty’s elbow showed no structural issues, and he’s easing back into action. I’m perfectly OK with him missing Opening Day as long as he can take the rock in Game 1 in the playoffs.

AJ Minter’s shoulder soreness was the result of a minor auto accident last Wednesday, not anything pitching related. Who hasn’t had several days of soreness following a fender bender?

The Max Fried “blister watch” was triggered on Saturday, but we learned later it was just a cut on his pinky caused by the nail on his thumb which occurred when he threw a curveball. The issue wasn’t the cut, but that he couldn’t get it to stop bleeding. That little hiccup aside, he looks to be on track and very much in the mix for the #5 rotation spot… as long as he finds a good manicurist.

Sean Newcomb looks gooooood. He looks like a kid that is ready to take the next step forward and cement his status as a top young starter. We really need that from him, too. Big time.

Adam Duvall is perfectly capable of hitting the ball a long way as long as Gil gives him grief. So Gil, it’s up to you to keep up the good work.

Freddie, as is typical, looks to be in regular season form already. So does Flow.

Man, March is going to be a long month, isn’t it?
one reason I was thinking for sore arms all around baseball….why are guys throwing as hard as possible, at the end of Feb? They really shouldn’t play “real” games in Feb. Edison Volquez I heard was throwing 95-97 for the Rangers in his first game…why? and after an arm injury? Like V said, worry about getting #1 over and say by the 10th of March really working on other pitches and throwing a bit harder…even then, 3 weeks til the season starts….

It’s why I was not concerned that Touki gave up that long homer to Pete Alonso last week. Touki says he left his fastball up… which he obviously did… in his first start of spring. Who cares? 10 years ago we wouldn’t have really known that much about it anyway. But today every team has 4 or 5 beat writers (how many beats are there anyway?) that report every slight movement every 2 minutes on social media.

So, Adam Duvall getting maximum opportunity to fail this spring. An o-fer today will cement the idea that yesterday’s success was a fluke.

Vee, you are right, we are suffering from information overload. Unfortunately, much of that information turns out to be false. Think politics…

Anyhow, we have become prisoners of our own success I suppose, what else would explain why I always skipped the front page and went directly to the sports section of the newspaper. Sadly, the politicians and pundits realized that was happening and started pontificating on sports networks. (See ESPN). My dad always told me to never argue with a zealot, you cannot reason with them and they have lots of practice in wearing you down.

Back to what is important: First look at Julio today. I hope someone can report on his ability to change speeds and location. Having said that, I would imagine the Astros will give us that information PDQ.

Yes, spring training is suppose to be about having the opportunity to “work on stuff”.

Bowman: Teheran had his slider working as he recorded three strikeouts during the first inning. He missed with a couple fastballs that resulted in a Myles Straw double and Derek Fisher’s two-run homer.

McAlpin: Julio Teheran’s slider looks good over three innings of work today. Fastball sat 90/91 as you’d expect…saw some 93’s as well.

Sam Freeman put in 2 innings of work giving up 1 hit and striking out 3… This is the Sam Freeman we all knew and loved until we didn’t.

Still would love to see AA shore up the bull pen with Dirty C before the Phillies give him some stupid money and tie up the NL East title.

Bullpens are even more important now than they were in the past with starters going fewer innings. I know the Phillies have built a stout line up but I have not forgotten the Braves when they signed Teixeira, they would club 6 runs and lose 7-6 because they could not hold a lead.

I still believe that if a younger kid come along (Minter?) who can get the job done, Kimbrel would still be a valuable trade chip and his salary could be moved without great loss.

And that’s a wrap, Braves leave the tying run stranded at 2nd base in the ninth with only one out. 14 hits and only 4 runs. It is getting so that if the Braves don’t hit a home run, guys on base don’t score… ACK!

Sam Freeman put in 2 innings of work giving up 1 hit and striking out 3… This is the Sam Freeman we all knew and loved until we didn’t. Still would love to see AA shore up the bull pen with Dirty C before the Phillies give him some stupid money and tie up the NL East title.

I liked the Sam Freeman of 2017. Not so much the one from 2018. I think he can be OK if you don’t ask him to do too much, which only emphasizes the bullpen depth you noted.

And I want Craig to take Luke Jackson’s spot in the pen anyway. Sam can stay… for now.

Donaldson will simulate game activities tomorrow at Disney and then likely debut Wednesday. Gausman got through today's live BP without any problems and is on track to make his first start later this week.

IMO, given the stark reminder about pitching depth, and given the harsh reality that Julio could be the Opening Day starter by injury default, I think AA should at least explore the possibility of bringing Dallas Keuchel in on a short deal… say 2 years. I could live with 2 years. Heck, take the same strategy with Craig and see if we cant get them both in on 2 year deals.

And get it done quickly. Spring is progressing without either and the regular season approacheth rapidly.

Reminds me of me, the first time someone threw me a really good curve ball. I actually went down, much to everyone’s amusement. I never did that again but then I never faced anyone with a really good curve ball again either.

woke up after 4 hours sleep, got to catch too much of the Mets/Red Sox game (actually some interesting talk between Ron Darling and Gary, whatshisface, some stat nut showed Darling that he did ok the 1st, and 2nd time thru a lineup, but not so hot 3rd time, proving even then they should have been pulling starters earlier. He then said to said statnut, how’d I do the 4th time thru the lineup? Huh? Oh….I didn’t even think about checking those. Well, turned out he did pretty well the the 4th time. I think Darling went to Yale or Harvard, back when that meant something)
anyways, even though the red sox were beating the Mutts, Cano was showing he can still hit, Wilson Ramos it going to hit a lot, if he stays healthy, Conforto, Nimmo, Keon Broxton make a pretty solid outfield….add to that their pitching staff…

Kyle Wright sure looked like a major league pitcher yesterday. If we’re judging purely on results, even after just a couple weeks of games, Wright has to be the early leader for the #5 rotation spot.

Dansby hit the ball hard in both AB’s. going up the middle once (kicked by the pitcher’s shoe) and opposite field the other (clean single). As much as I like that approach, the best news is that his wrist felt good. I’m praying we get a full season of a healthy Dansby so that he can realize his full potential.

Split squad today, so there’re 2 games to keep up with. But maybe the most important activity will be Luiz Gohara’s throwing session today. He’s scheduled to throw a live BP.

A Braves-Kimbrel reunion just makes sense. It seems like a no-brainer to me. And it’s more than just the money and any associated “risks” associated with giving a relatively large commitment to a guy some think may be hitting the other side of his peak.

It proves to the team that the front office is committed to their success on the field, and it shows the fans the same.

Agree V, get er done! 3-4 years, really, what difference does it make????
man, not sure what is wrong, but it’s like the old days using internet explorer and the AJC baseball blog freezing up my computer…now I can’t get mozilla to ….unfreeze ….a bit better via chrome….I guess the 10 year old computer is some of the problem too….sigh….

Red Sox reliever Steven Wright has been suspended 80 games after testing positive for PEDs. This is significant because the Bosox bullpen was already considered “thin”. I hope this doesn’t force them to reconsider bringing back Craig Kimbrel.

Sigh, valuable time being lost in the Kimbrel saga. Being able to point at how much money was saved plays pretty thin when you are sitting in 4th place only a few blown saves out of 1st. I heard that crap all my life dealing with the evil empire…

One thing that may play in our favor to keep Boston from circling back to Kimbrel is that they are more focused on being able to work out a new deal for true “ace” Chris Sale before he hits FA at season’s end. That’s gonna take alot of their available cash, not to mention seriously affect their luxury tax threshold. Add to that the fact that at some point they have to look to extend Mookie Betts long term (earning $20M this year in his 2nd arb season) and you can see why they aren’t lining up to commit $16M per season to bring Craig back.

I believe that right now the 5th starter’s job is Kyle Wright’s to lose. And if that happens, I believe Touki Toussaint will not pitch in AAA, rather he’ll pitch out of the bullpen. Same might be said for Max Fried, although they may want Fried handling the ball every 5th day in Gwinnett to toughen the fingers and be ready for a spot start.

Looking at the 8 men Shanks lists, I think Dan Winkler is the one on the bubble to accommodate Touki… partially because we haven’t even seen him in game action yet, but mostly because he has 3 minor league options left.

Watching the Yankees vs Phillies this afternoon. Folks, the Phillies look tough. Anderson throwing BBs, Lane Adams even looks good in the field, still fast… Would be a solid 4th outfielder for the Fillies.

Craig Kimbrel, the still-unsigned Hall of Famer to be, is said to be in top shape, on his program, ready to go and working out in Orlando. Don’t read anything into the locale — it’s coincidental, the Braves are one of a few teams with some level of interest.

Alan Carpenter lays down a fairly well thought out argument this morning for the Braves to go with a 6-man rotation. Unconventional? Sure it is. But not unheard of… unlike the “opener” that became somewhat of a craze toward the end of last season.

And why the “opener”? Because Tampa was short on starters and strong on relievers, so they played to their strength. Thus, Carpenter’s appeal to the Braves: “The Braves are loaded with starters who can go 5+ innings on any given night. Why not play to that strength and use… more of them?”

When you consider that the Braves only have one pitcher on the roster who has ever pitched more than 200 innings in a season (Julio), they are going to be pressed to get through the season with such a young rotation anyway. So why not spread it out a little more with an extra starter? And an extra day between starts cannot be bad for a pitcher’s arm, right?

If you’ll recall, Snit relented late last year and actually employed a loose 6-man rotation in September out of necessity. And it showed in October that our guys were gassed… especially the bullpen that had shouldered the load (pun fully intended) of a bunch of young starters that couldn’t consistently go 6 innings.

So as Carpenter aptly states: “Maybe limiting innings early might help them late in the season?”

If you think about it, the first couple of weeks will provide a couple of off days allowing Folty and Gausy to get back into the flow of things. But once that happens, why not take the two leaders for the #5 spot and make them #5 and #6?

I have my suspicions that Kimbrel is playing hard to get at this point. He believes he is worth every bit as much as Chapman. He is not willing to take less than $15MM a year nor should he have to. Craig might well be the difference in repeating as NL East champs and ending up as just another also ran.

I guess Thoppy is still looking under the couch cushions to come up with enough coin for a decent 4th outfielder.

So, in a major league season there are about 1458 innings that need to be pitched, if you have a starting staff which is only hurling 6 innings per night, that is 972 innings. Close to 500 innings need to be covered by your relief corps. That is innings, not outs and if you estrapulate it out to the number of pitches it takes to get an out. It means their are going to be some pretty tired arm by October.

What did we learn from Rocky, it take 1000 hours of training for every minute of fighting in the ring. That is a lot of chicken chasing… The old rule of thump was for a starter to throw at 85% effort. That way they could go 7 and 8 innings. Not happening today. It is 100% effort every pitch, no wonder there are so many tire arms in the game in July.

Another thing some folks do appear to realize is innings pitched in the minors are not a whole lot different from innings pitched in the minors. Perhaps a little less stressful but innings pitched still the same.

I was well into adulthood before I realize that winning in the minors is a nice by product of playing, not the goal. Why else would there be such a huge difference in ticket prices?

Good evening folks.. So, the Braves are letting Riley take few turn at first base. Hummmm… Christian Pache hit his second home run in two days today… The power potential he has displayed has caused his stock to rise dramatically. Perhaps the Braves have the next Juan Soto in their system. He already plays a major league defense, look for him to make the scene sometime after April 14th. There is still time for a deal to be made for a pitcher or fourth outfielder.

Not sure if Duvall sticks past Tuesday but Pache sure does make him expendable.

“berigan2electricboogaloo
February 15, 2019 at 2:36 pm
I also wanted to mention, before I forgot….I HATE a lot of the “new” thinking, like for a century + no one had at some point thought of ideas of today. An opener. We all know that shifts were used 60 years ago…but, anyway…
shift makes some sense…really don’t think an opener was why the rays won 90 games (I am sure there are stats in games they used an opener) but…now to argue with my get off my lawn old fashioned ways…
I think the braves could really benefit from , 1, trading Julio for, anything you can get, then using 4 kids in the place of 2 regular starters. we know Soroka, Touki, etc are only going to 5 innings a lot of the time anyways, right? Why not 4 innings, then another starter (meaning knowing they are going to start the night before, prepping as a starter, not a reliever) comes in for the 5th, and goes 3 or 4, then a bullpen arm?
Gohara , like Folty, may just not do well as a reliever, so have Gohara start a game, and go 4, and have Kyle Wright then come in?
this keeps young arm’s innings down, but keeps them as starters, and hopefully keeps them fresh, down the stretch ….

I think at this point in the offseason I am now seeing AA’s strategy. For one, I believe he was waiting into spring training to see exactly what he has to work with. I believe that if his bevvy of young arms had encountered struggles, either in the rotation or in the bullpen, he would have made a move. But with the prized prospects showing why they’re prized prospects, he’s content to go into the season with them instead of someone with some mileage on the arm (and more $$ on their contract). That said, I think it plays into the long range strategy of sitting on “flexibility” and exercising it closer to July when more arms come available… ala the Astros and Justin Verlander. It’s basically the same mindset that HOU had in their World Series winning season. Don’t forget that Madison Bumgarner is a prime July trade candidate. Robbie Ray could be as well.

Another thing that is becoming somewhat evident is that he must be willing to trade Austin Riley, which is why he’s giving the youngster time at 1B. We all know Freddie isn’t going anywhere. So unless AA is seriously considering using Riley off the bench right away as a backup corner IF, he must be showcasing him. My question is who is it that wants to know if the kid can play across the diamond? Has someone specifically asked?

And speaking of that last spot on the bench, I believe it’s the only real opening on the 25 man roster (well, aside from the arms race for the 5th rotation spot, but that has its own dynamic). I don’t think Adam Duvall has cemented anything… rather he has only created more uncertainty. The Braves have already passed the date that they could have released him and saved the majority of his salary, so they’re stuck with it for 2019. BUT… Duvall has 1 minor league option remaining, so he can be sent to AAA to try to learn how to hit again.

So who wins that last bench spot? Personally, I don’t think he’s on the roster yet. AA will likely wait until teams begin to make their last cuts and will sign somebody off the scrap heap… most likely a RH hitting corner OF with a little pop.

Austin Riley putting on another show in BP here at Disney. Just hit three balls over the scoreboard and bounced one off the roof of the batting cages beyond the left-center wall. Dude's strong. #Braves@680TheFan

The “news” of the day is that AA has officially ruled Folty out for Opening Day… something that anyone paying attention already knew.

“Folty’s the one guy that, building him up as a starter, he’s not going to be ready. Feeling great. Throwing. We were just mapping out his throwing program this morning in terms of bullpens, live BPs — all those type of things. We’re just trying to figure out what point do we get him up to five innings?” – courtesy of flagship radio station 680 The Fan.

I gotta be honest… I don’t like it. It has a bad feel to me. Folty hasn’t even begun throwing off a mound yet. In my estimation, even if there are no setbacks, which I pray there aren’t, he’s at least 3 weeks behind, right? So he’s at least looking at missing 3 or 4 turns of the rotation, right? And what if… what if there is a setback?